Page 99 of Dreams of Falling
Before I could prioritize what I wanted to say, he was kissing me again, one hand pressed against the back of my head, the other one sliding up my rib cage until it was cupping my breast.
I pushed him away. “Please stop,” I said, my voice shaky, the collision of my fantasy world with this reality shattering something inside me.
“You don’t mean that,” he said, a half grin gracing his face, his white teeth in the streetlamp’s glow giving him a feral appearance.
“I do,” I said, my voice nearly lost in a rush of air from my lungs as I saw everything with a glaring clarity. Knew without a doubt that everything Mabry had said about Jackson was right.
Memories were flooding back. The day during senior year, right before finals, when he’d invited me out on his dad’s boat, just the two of us, because, he said, he wanted to get to know me better. How he’d brought me down to the cabin with the double bed and the messy sheets, and I’d gone willingly because I thought I was in love with him.
I held him back with the heels of my hands pressed against his broad shoulders. “That time on the boat—you said it was special for you, too. Do you say that to every girl?”
His grin dipped, either because he felt shame or thought that’s what I wanted to see. “Maybe noteveryone, but when I say it, I sincerely want the girl to feel special.”
Spots danced before my eyes, either from anger or from forgetting to breathe. He must have taken my silence for something else entirely, because he leaned forward for another kiss, his hand snaking around the back of my dress and tugging at the top of the zipper.
“Stop!” I shouted, trying to pull away, beating on his shoulder with one hand while the other searched for the door handle.
“You don’t mean that. You weren’t such a tease before, if I remember correctly.” I felt the zipper slide lower down my back as he tried to pull me over the console toward him. I was mad at my own naïveté and stupidity almost as much as I was angry at him.
“Stop!” I screamed, hitting out as hard as I could with both fists. I opened my mouth to scream again, but the sound died in my throat as the driver’s side door was yanked open. A pair of hands reached inside and grabbed hold of Jackson’s shirt, hauling him out of the car.
I jerked upright as my door was opened as well, and almost cried with relief when I recognized Mabry. She helped me stand, and pulled up my zipper. “Are you all right?”
I started to nod, but was distracted by the sound of a scuffle coming from the other side of the car. Mabry and I both ran over to find Bennett holding Jackson by the collar of his shirt. “What do you think you’re doing?” Bennett was yelling, shaking Jackson so hard, his head was moving back and forth like that of a bobblehead.
Jackson pushed on Bennett’s chest with both hands, dislodging his grasp. “It’s none of your business. Just me and a girl in my car.”
Bennett stepped forward, jabbing an index finger in Jackson’s chest. “That’s not ‘just a girl.’ That’s Larkin.”
The feral grin was back on Jackson’s face. “You think I don’t know who she is? I know her a lot better than you do, that’s for sure.”
“What are you talking about?” Bennett asked, his voice low with warning.
“Don’t say anything, Jackson.” Mabry had moved to stand in front of the two men. “Just get in your car and go. We’re done here.”
“What are you talking about?” Bennett asked again as he took hold of Jackson’s collar and gave him a hard shake. They were the sameheight. Bennett was lean and muscled, but Jackson was built like a bulldog. I didn’t see how any fight between them would end well.
“Oh, come on, Bennett. Didn’t you pay into the betting pool senior year? All the guys on the team did. I made a lot of money, but it was a tough job. Larkin wasn’t so good-looking back then. I had to keep my eyes closed.” He jerked his chin in my direction. “I just thought she owed me a second round.”
“Stop it!” Mabry said through gritted teeth.
Jackson feigned surprise. “Oh, that’s right, Mabry. You made me give back the money that I’d earned fair and square. Then you gave me all your babysitting money and went out with me so I wouldn’t tell that I got Larkin’s virginity on a bet. You still owe me, by the way. I didn’t even get past your bra.”
I had started backing away, the sound of the rain hitting the pavement and the car like bullets. Bennett was looking at me now. “Is this true?” he asked. “Is what Jackson’s saying true?”
I shook my head.A bet?No. That wasn’t true. It couldn’t be. But then I looked at Mabry’s face and knew that it was. And she’d tried to protect me, and all she got for her troubles was a concussion.
“Tell him, Larkin,” Jackson said. He was still grinning like this was all some big joke. “Tell him how you begged me. How you told me you loved me and wanted me to be your first.”
Bennett lunged for him, but Mabry threw herself forward, blocking him again.
“Go!” she screamed at Jackson. “Get out of here before someone gets hurt.”
He didn’t even look at me. Just got back in his car and peeled off, the tires slipping and spraying on the wet pavement.
The rain had petered out to a thin drizzle, coating everything with a fine mist. Bennett looked at me, his eyes widening with realization. “That day of the senior party, when we were all on the boat. That’s what that fight was about.”
I closed my eyes, remembering the worst day of my life.
