Page 44 of Love is Strange
My body goes rigid as I pull firmly away from Silas. I turn to face him, a sour look on my face as he drops his arms from around my shoulders.
“What can I say? We were raised in some hippie cult bullshit. It’s not like she hasn’t seen my dick before and I can tell you what her tits look like down to the detail, but we’ve never wanted to fuck each other. Ever. God, just the thought of that is killing my hard-on more than your little remark earlier.”
Silas lowers his forehead to mine, and rubs it gently, pulling me back toward him.
“I won’t hurt you, you know. I mean, not unless you’re into that kind of thing,” he says with a low chuckle.
“Silas,” I say with a sigh, attempting to push him away again. I just don’t know how well I would fit into a world where a brother freely fucks in front of his amateur movie producer sister who waits in the wings to record our every move.
But that’s when I realize something.
Silas and Vanessa share a closeness that’s so much different than the one my brother and I ever shared. They love each other and are willing to do anything to help the other one be happy for however long a moment of happiness lasts and neither of them force the other to do anything they don’t want to do.
Maybe I can try this.
Maybe it won’t be so bad.
I put my hands on his sides and raise my face toward his, letting our lips brush against each other, sending a shiver through both of us.
“Nessa? Get the fuck out,” Silas says in a thick voice.
She laughs as she tosses his phone onto the bed and closes the door tightly behind her.
Maybe this can be something different. Something new and exciting, and maybe I don’t have to worry about facing monsters in the dark by myself anymore.
As Silas picks me up in his arms and gently lays me back down on his bed, a boyish grin on his face, I can’t help but smile.
What’s the worst that can happen?
I fall in love?
That wouldn’t be so bad.
…would it?
Encore
ELIZABETH CASH
O N E
RYAN
Grand Valley Prep.
One of the top schools in Rolling Hills, and somehow, I managed to land my rebellious, home-wrecking ass smack dab in the middle of it. After getting kicked out of three public schools and ruining private tutors for home school, my parents’ last hope for a future for their son is this high-class pansy school. There are dancers prancing around the halls, jocks shoving their testosterone down everyone’s throat and nerds sitting on top of some mighty high horses. This school is one of the most talked about schools and I can’t see why. It is literally like every other one out there. The only difference—Grand Valley Prep is a dance school.
Take that in for a second.A. Dance. School.
Me, at a dance school.
I think maybe I should give you a small intro into my life for you to truly understand why this is fucking insane.
I'm a teenager with more pent up aggression than a bull that’s been taunted right before a rodeo. Blame it on lack of attention and sentiment from my parents who would rather pawn me off on some stranger than take care of me themselves. Yeah—I'mthatkid. The dark and mischievous cliché. Friends aren't something I have because, for some reason, people are scared of me. It could be the resting dick face or maybe the fact that anyone who speaks to me gets barked at—literally.
So, most days—basically every day—I keep to myself. Doing whatever the hell I please.
I've been to three different public high schools. I got kicked out of the first one for fighting two of the teachers. I’m still on probation for it. The second school I went to, let’s just say I like graffiti and the gym teacher had a brand new, white car that needed a splash of color. He wasn’t as impressed as I was with the artwork. The third school didn’t even want to take me, but they didn't really have a choice. It was either let me attend their school or get sued. They relented, took me in, and a week later regretted it when I “accidentally” caught the lunch room on fire when I was helping one of the guys prep for lunch the next day.
