Come Alive (Experiment in Terror #7)

CHAPTER FOUR

Aside from the elevator incident, which did lead to more bedroom antics back at the apartment, Perry did feel like going out. I was almost giddy at the prospect of taking her out with my friends. Well, giddy was a pretty girly term, but I did catch myself singing into my comb while I was grooming myself in the bathroom. But I was singing to Dillinger Escape Plan, which negated all girlyness. It’s true, look it up.

Perry wore a simple, long black tank top, ass-tight jeans, and looked absolutely beautiful, no surprise there. Every moment I was around her I was absolutely floored by her. Maybe that’s what every guy in love says, but what really got me, what always got me, was that she didn’t see it herself. No, she wasn’t as thin as a lot of women, she didn’t eat only raw foods or do drugs or workout every day. But just because she wasn’t toned on every part of her body didn’t mean I wasn’t hard 24/7. I’d slept with all sorts of women, big, small, fat, skinny. It didn’t really matter. If I found a woman attractive, then I found her attractive, and sticking her in a box didn’t matter. Women are women are women and they all have parts I love.

And Perry, well she was just perfect for me. She had curves, curves that melted into my hands, into my skin, more than other women I’d been with. Her body molded to mine, soft, sensual, nurturing. It sounded archaic, but she just oozed fertility, and with that fertility came a power that she had no idea about. She looked at herself and hated what she saw, and I was going to do my best to show her that she was beyond beautiful to me. And aside from hers, my opinion was the only one that should matter. Not what other women thought or other men thought and definitely not what Cosmo thought.

Sir Mix-A-Lot and I had a lot of things in common.

“You look stunning,” I said as she slipped on her boots in the hallway.

She blushed. “Really, Dex.”

“Hey,” I said, my voice deepening. I grabbed the house keys off the kitchen table and stopped right in front of her. “I warned you once about learning to accept a compliment. You better start accepting mine.”

She swung her thick, shiny hair off her shoulders and rivaled any shampoo commercial. “Sorry. I’m just not used to all the compliments like you are.”

I smiled. “Kiddo, I rarely get compliments. So I just decide to compliment myself instead. You should try it sometime.”

It only took us about ten minutes to find the bar on 2nd avenue. It was a Thursday night but Thursday was the new Friday and all that bullshit, and the place looked like it was going to get really busy soon. Luckily it was only 7PM for us and we beat most of the crowd.

Everyone was already there, and by everyone I meant Seb, Dean, Rebecca, and a young Asian couple I didn’t recognize. Judging from their nerd shirts that said PWND and I Love Commander Shepard, I assumed they were friends of Seb and Dean.

Rebecca clapped her hands together excitedly as we approached them. They managed to snag a booth near the front of the bar, and judging by Rebecca’s over-excitedness and the range of drinks in front of them, it looked like they’d been sitting there and drinking for quite some time. I didn’t go out all that often, but when I did, things got pretty messy. I made a mental note to try and behave myself, but I couldn’t promise anything. I hoped Perry wouldn’t mind getting groped by Drunk Dex.

We squeezed in the booth with Perry on the outside (I didn’t want her to next to Seb since he also got a bit “ass and tit ogly” when he got drunk), and Rebecca ordered another pitcher while Dean introduced us to his friends Janet and Justin.

“So, it’s nice to see you two here together,” Dean said with a smile, looking between the two of us. I placed my elbows on the table and stared at him curiously. Dean was one of my good friends, if not the best. It didn’t mean we braided each other’s hair and had sleepovers, but he knew me pretty damn well. He was also a bit of a smartass, so I couldn’t figure out if he knew something about Perry and I or not. I eyed Rebecca who seemed preoccupied with her beer. No martinis and fancy drinks for her tonight—the world must have been ending.

“Uh huh,” I said, while Dean continued to grin at us and adjust his glasses. “Nice to see you too, Dean.”

He looked at Perry directly. “How are you liking your new roommate?”

She shrugged and put on a face. “He’s alright, I guess.”

Dean laughed. “I couldn’t imagine living with Dex. I think he’d drive me nuts. No offense, man.”

“None taken. It’s not like I could live with a guy who plays Halo until four in the morning. I’d feel guilty for being the only guy in the house that gets laid.”

“Oh, like you’re getting laid now,” Seb interjected with a lazy laugh. “Didn’t you and Jenn break up?”

I felt Perry stiffen up beside me, and I glared at Seb while I kicked him in the ankle. “Very astute, Seb. Have you even been conscious for the last couple of months?” I asked snidely.

“Ow, dude,” he exclaimed, leaning over to rub his leg. “I can’t pay attention to all the gossip.”

I rolled my eyes. Seb had been there with me while I tried to get over Jenn, when I started to turn over a new leaf. F*ckhead.

I shot Perry a quick glance to see how she was faring. She was sitting there quietly, her eyes sweeping the bar as if she was looking for someone.

“You okay, kiddo?” I whispered.

It took her a few seconds to bring her attention back over to me. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said in a small voice. “Just thought I saw something.”

“A ghost?”

Seb snorted from beside me and I kicked him again. Meanwhile, Justin and Janet looked puzzled at the sincerity of my question. I sometimes forgot that seeing ghosts and hunting them for a YouTube show wasn’t the most natural thing in the world.

Perry shook her head and shot me a tight smile. Maybe all of these questions were bothering her. I wanted to tell Seb that I was getting laid, and by the woman next to me, but I wasn’t sure how she’d feel about that. And I didn’t want to rock the boat.

“So,” Dean said again, “I hope Dex has been putting the sock on the door when he brings a lady home.”

Good f*cking god!

“Dean, shut the f*ck up,” I snarled at him, and it barely erased the smile from his face. He knew how in love with Perry I was, and now I definitely knew that he knew about Perry and I; he was just trying to be a legitimate shitburger.

“Actually, we haven’t worked out that system yet,” Perry said smoothly. “Dex is more fond of leaving the door open. Scares the poor dog half to death.”

Well, she was certainly handling the awkwardness with ease. I reached under the table and squeezed her knee, smiling at her. She smiled back, but still a little timid. This wouldn’t do.

“Do you wanna do a shot with me?” I asked her.

She nodded enthusiastically. We got out of the booth and made our way through the crowd that was growing larger by the minute.

Once at the bar, while we waited for the bartender to notice us, I put my arm around her waist and pulled her to me. I kissed her long and hard, not caring who saw it.

She kissed me back, hot and wet, before the bartender cleared his throat, wanting our attention. I smiled like a jackass and ordered us two shots each of Jameson.

“Was that okay that I did that?” I asked, brushing her hair behind her ear, staring at those sweet little lips.

“Kissed me?” she asked.

“Yeah, like this,” I leaned and kissed her again, my tongue slipping along her lower lip, my hand holding her firmly in place at the back of her head.

I pulled away reluctantly when I heard the bartender again. I slammed down a fifty without even looking at him, saying “keep the change.”

“I don’t think I could ever object to you kissing me. Except my knees are a lot weaker and I suddenly wish the bar was empty so I could ride you right here.”

She smacked the bar top and my dick strained against my pants.

“You are a f*cking naughty girl,” I told her.

“Or just a naughty girl you’re f*cking,” she said and picked up one of the shots.

You’re so much more than that, I thought. But I picked up the shot and raised it at her. “Bottoms up for now. Your bottom’s up later when I smack the shit out of it.”

She grinned and we downed the shots, then the other. I pushed them toward the bartender and gave him a look that said, how did I get so lucky?

We walked a few steps, the crowd between us and the booth, and I grabbed her arm, pulling her close.

“Do you mind if I do that in public…you know, in front of my friends?” I don’t know when the f*ck I had become so respectful and how long it could last, but the threat of scaring her off was ever so imminent.

She bit her lip and looked around. “I don’t know…”

“Okay, I understand,” I told her. “No public displays of erection in front of my friends.”

She grinned. “God, Dex, I hope not.” Her eyes darted over to the bathroom. “If the waitress comes by, can you order me a glass of Chardonnay? Too much beer already. I’ll be right back.”

I nodded and watched her go and tried to steady my racing heart. I didn’t know why this kind of talk made me nervous but it did. All I wanted was to just call her my girlfriend and let everyone know, but it just didn’t seem like she was there yet. Motherf*cking baby steps.

I straightened out my tee-shirt (it was black and a little on the small side, but hey it showed off the goods) and took a deep breath. I pushed my way through the crowd, and was almost at the table when I saw an anomaly.

And by anomaly, I mean a f*cking terrible thing that wasn’t there before and should never be there ever, shouldn’t even exist.

She was standing in front of the booth, talking to Seb or maybe just talking at him. He had a stupid goofy grin on his face while Dean and Rebecca looked pissed off and all cagey. Her hair was honey gold and really long, like to her ass, and quite obviously fake. Figured she’d put in hair extensions, probably chopped off some virgin Russian’s head and sold it for pennies. Other than that, she still looked pretty good from behind—your quintessential “hot girl” body in booty shorts and a sparkly tank top. But I knew the person the body housed and she was rotten to the core. And probably freezing.

I wiggled my jaw back and forth, trying to reduce the strain, and straightened up, shaking out my shoulders. I refused to let my ex-girlfriend, Jennifer “Brad Banger” Rodriguez, intimidate me.

I walked toward them, feeling the tension in the air thicken as I got closer, and stopped right behind her. I caught a whiff of the expensive perfume she always doused herself in and fought the urge to sneeze.

Too late. I sneezed, horribly loud, and she whipped around to see me.

We eyed each other like two territorial wolves, only my eyes were watering as I fought another sneeze.

“Dex,” she said rather brightly, and I sneezed again. I guess it took me this long to find out I was allergic to skank.

“Jenn,” I said, once I composed myself, not really sure what else I could say. Everything else seemed terribly inappropriate. I moved past her and sat down in the booth beside Seb and looked up at her expectantly. “Well, to what do we owe the honor of your presence?” I asked snidely. National Slut Convention next door? Twatwaffles Anoymous?

Her eyes narrowed at me briefly. And then her eyes narrowed in on my arms, my chest, my shoulders, and her expression changed. She liked the new Dex, liked him very much. Figured. Too bad this was all for Perry now and not her.

Perry. My eyes darted over to the washroom. She was still in there. I knew how awkward she’d feel if she came out right now, and I hoped Jenn would move her miniscule ass away from our table.

She smiled at me and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen her smile. “I’m here with some friends of mine and we were just looking for a place to sit. All the tables are taken.”

I eyed Rebecca, who was staring at me and giving me a no-f*cking-way look, and obviously I couldn’t agree more. But then Seb spoke up and said, “You can sit with us, we don’t mind. Look, there’s space beside Dex.”

“No there’s not,” I snapped at Seb and made a move to kick him again. The stoned little bastard was surprisingly quick this time and moved out of the way.

“I can move over,” Janet said sweetly, obviously having no idea what was going on and far too socially inept to pick up on it. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and sigh, but she didn’t notice and Jenn sat down next to her, full of unearned pride. >

Great.

“Dex, you look fantastic,” Jenn said, leaning on her elbows, her breasts pressed together. Nice try honey, but that ain’t cleavage.

“Thank you. I feel like a new man,” I said matter-of-factly. As in, I am much better off without you.

“Well, it looks good on you,” she said, then fluffed up her hair. I knew what she was doing—flirting with me—but I didn’t really know why. I didn’t like it.

“How’s Sir Swagger Douchington the F*ck?”

She frowned. “Who?”

“Bradley. How’s your boyfriend doing?”

Her face fell for a second then morphed into her puffy-lipped robot expression. “We broke up,” she said like she didn’t care, but I could tell she did.

“Awwww, what a shame!” I exclaimed. “That must just plain suck for you.” Okay, so I was a bit over the top, but come on.

She glared at me, and I remembered how hot I used to find her when she was angry, and how grateful I was that I wasn’t turned on in the slightest anymore.

The waitress chose to interrupt Jenn’s awkward moment by asking us if we wanted more drinks. While everyone else got two more pitchers, I ordered a Jack and Coke for myself and “a glass of chardonnay for my girlfriend.”

The waitress nodded and took off, not at all noticing the very gigantic bomb I had just dropped at the table. The bomb that had everyone—aside from Janet and Justin—with their jaws on the floor. Rebecca gave a little yelp of drunken delight, Dean leaned back in his seat and said, “You dog,” and Seb and Jenn both asked in unison, “Girlfriend?”

And just like that, as if the fates of karma were on our side tonight, Perry appeared at the table. She didn’t notice Jenn at first, was just smiling at me, cute and refreshed as f*ck, but then she noticed the silence around her and the fact that everyone was staring at her. Including Jenn.

I felt kinda bad for her; I mean Jenn was my ex, so it was way more awkward for me, but Perry looked like she’d just seen a ghost. She wasn’t quite surprised as she was just…horrified.

“Just ordered you a drink, baby,” I said, smiling as charmingly as possible, and patted the seat next to me.

She sat down carefully, her eyes downcast, avoiding Jenn who was full-on hate glaring at her now.

“This is your girlfriend?” Jenn asked, pointing at Perry with a long purple-painted talon. “Ghost girl?”

Perry looked at me, wide-eyed. I didn’t know if she was angry that I called her my girlfriend in public like that or what. But hell, if there was any time she’d be happy to be announced as my girlfriend, it was probably with Jennifer staring across at her, utterly dumbfounded.

“Yes,” I said, putting my arm around Perry and holding her to me. “Perry is my girlfriend.” I grinned at Jenn, watching her squirm and enjoying it far, far too much. I tilted my head toward Seb. “And as you can see, I’m very much getting laid.”

Seb chuckled and Jenn nearly jumped out of her seat.

“Nice, Dex,” she sneered. “You couldn’t wait to get in her pants, could you? You’re a pig.”

“And you’re the shit this pig used to roll around in.”

Jenn’s mouth dropped open, and she spun around on her heel and walked her skanky ass back into the crowd. It was amazing to think that I’d spent three years of my life with her, but I’d found a lot of true colors and feelings came out when they became your ex. They seemed a lot more skanky.

I looked over at Justin and Janet who were watching me, absolutely flabbergasted. “Sorry,” I apologized to them. “That was my ex-girlfriend. This is my new girlfriend. You know how it goes.”

“I knew it,” Dean cried out. “I knew you guys were together.”

“Because Rebecca can’t keep her mouth shut,” I said, staring at her pointedly.

She smiled but didn’t say anything. She became strangely mute when drunk.

“Well, man, congratulations,” Dean said sincerely. “Both of you. Although to you, Perry, I’d say good luck.”

I looked down at Perry who was nestled under my arm. Well, she wasn’t exactly nestled as she was sitting straight up and rigid as I held her body to my side. I wanted her to loosen up and get used to this, to own it, to be proud.

“I hope I didn’t embarrass you,” I said, lowering my voice and face to hers.

She looked shy. “You didn’t, I was just shocked. I mean, I thought I saw the she-beast earlier and I just assumed I was being paranoid…I didn’t know I was your girlfriend.”

I looked up, wondering if we needed to continue the conversation outside, but upon meeting my eyes, everyone else at the table started chatting loudly with each other on cue.

I turned back to Perry. “Well, you’re more than a girlfriend. Girlfriend is such a juvenile term, and as juvenile as I am, that’s not the way I feel about you. You’re a partner, a lover, a friend, and so much more than that. Sorry if I put you on the spot.”

“No,” she said, smiling. I wanted to kiss her nose. “It’s okay. I’m glad you did it. I’m sorry I’m being such a weirdo about all of this. It’s just hard to believe how far we’ve come, you know? My brain is just catching up now.”

“So you’re okay with me being your boyfriend? I’ll treat you real nice. We can go steady and you can wear my letterman jacket.”

“Ooooh, maybe,” she said playfully. “What letter is on it?”

“No letter, just a picture of a cock.”

She snorted. “Of course there is.”

“It’s a rooster, you pervert.”

She eyed me dryly. “Oh yeah? Why a rooster?”

“It symbolizes my cock. Can’t love me without loving cock.”

I heard someone cough. I looked up and Janet was staring at me, her thin brows raised to the ceiling, but Justin was giving me the “dude, I know” head nod.

I felt Perry tense up slightly and wondered if I took things too far. Wouldn’t be the first time. Then I wondered if it was because I threw the “love” word out there. Wouldn’t be the first time for that either.

Luckily our drinks came just then, and I quickly ordered two rounds of shots for everyone at the table. The evening was turning out to be all sorts of weird and unknown territory, and getting drunk was the quickest way through it. Pretty soon everyone was getting sloppy. Having a good time, but sloppy nonetheless. Rebecca kept looking like she was about to face plant into the table, Dean and Justin were engrossed in game talk, Janet was drunk and in a mad texting war with someone overseas, and Seb kept going out to smoke a joint until he just never came back.

And Perry and I? Well, the alcohol and the whole “we are now a couple” speech swirled around to make our own personal concoction of lust and longing. I tried to behave myself, I really did, but my tongue was down her throat, my hands were down her pants, and I was one soft moan away from blowing my load all over Janet’s shoes. Okay, well in my defense, “behaving myself” meant I wasn’t undressing Perry in public, though that was starting to become an option.

I kissed down her neck, biting along the way and murmured, “Remember what we tried to do in the elevator?”

“I have a vague recollection,” she said, her voice all airy and enthralled. Such a turn-on.

“How about you go to the ladies’ washroom and I meet you there in a minute. It has a lock on the door, right?”

She placed her hand on my chest and pushed me back to look me in the eye. “Are you serious? The women’s washroom?”

“Baby, I’m always serious when it comes to getting you off. You should know this by now.” I pulled her to me and sucked hard on her delicate earlobe. “Besides, I can feel how wet you are. Would be a real shame to waste that.” I pressed my fingers into her until she twitched.

She straightened up in her seat and brushed her hair back, gathering it at the nape of her neck, her eyes searching the table and bar to see if anyone was paying attention to our antics. No one was. Satisfied, she gave me a loaded look and then walked off to the washrooms. Hot damn. Hate to have you go but love to watch you leave.

I finished the rest of my drink, waiting a few beats, kinda hoping that someone would notice what we were about to do, but no one did. Dean and Justin were now talking to Janet about something heated, and Rebecca was passed out on the table. We’d have to take her home soon, but I knew we wouldn’t be in the bathroom all that long, not at the rate I was jacked up.

I got up and moved through the crowd to the washrooms. There was no line outside the women’s, which was good, only problem was there were two of them and I didn’t know which one Perry was in. I knocked on the first door, just a quick rap, and heard someone yell, “Occupied!” as if her life depended on it. Sheesh, women were uptight about pissing.

I went to the next one, knocked softly and said, “Perry?” and it opened a crack, showing just half of her face. She looked so damn nervous and shy that I pushed the rest of the door open and went inside, quickly locking the door behind me. The need to drive my cock inside her suddenly overpowered me, and I grabbed her face, kissing her hard, my hands moving down into her hair, down her back to her ass where I got a good meaty hold and squeezed hard. She let out a cry of pain, but it was good pain from the way she attacked me, hands, lips, teeth, everywhere.

I quickly pulled her leggings and thong off, and then whirled her around and pinned her up against the wall. She wrapped her bare legs around my waist and held me close to her as I fumbled with my fly. Once my cock was free, my jeans dropping to my ankles, I wasted no time in guiding the tip into her, just teasing her cleft with her own wetness.

“F*ck me, Dex,” she cried out, her head back, her hips trying to thrust closer, to get purchase. Her nails dug into my back.

“Tell me how much you want it,” I groaned, feeling her expanding for my tip, so needy.

“I want it, I want you. I need you inside me.”

Oh god, please keep talking, I thought. My heart was competing now with my dick.

“Tell me how much.”

“So much. Please, I need you inside me, please thrust inside me, please.”

Her cries were my undoing. I thrust into her, feeling her expand around me, so slick, so tight, so, so beautiful. It was a space meant for me, only for me, a place I’d spent my life looking for, a home inside a woman who was my home. There was no place I’d rather be. F*ck.

I started off slow, relaxing into the rhythm, trying to hold myself in check. She felt so good and I started rubbing her * to ensure I felt the same way for her. She started panting, squirming, wanting more.

“Harder,” she pleaded. “Take me harder.”

I licked her neck. “Aren’t you a demanding one.” I kept going slow and steady, not ready to give her everything just yet. I was amazed I was able to hold her up like this, and when I pulled my head away I noticed she was watching my clenching ass in the bathroom mirror as I pushed into her.

“Do you like what you see?” I whispered, delighting in the primal lust in her glazed eyes. “Those muscles are all for you. I was born to f*ck you, baby.”

I thrust into her deeper, faster, finally giving us what we both wanted. She held me tighter, dug her nails in harder, bit down on my shoulder as I pounded her, keeping my fingers quick and steady. Her legs began to loosen as she approached climax.

“That’s my girl, that’s my girl, that’s my girl,” I grunted as the pressure reached the breaking point. Everything tightened before the damn was unleashed and I poured into her, wanting my seed to go further, to implant itself somewhere deep inside her where a part of me would never, ever leave.

She cried out as she came, whimpering, moaning, then tried to muffle it once she realized where we were. I couldn’t care less. I wanted the whole bar to know.

I breathed into the hollow of her neck, swimming in her smell, the feeling of her as she came for me, the sweetness of vulnerability in the moments after. This was heaven, this was priceless, this was everything.

“Wow,” she said, catching her breath. Her legs started shaking around me, tired from the strain. I grabbed hold of her thighs and gently pried her off of me, lowering her. “Wow.”

“Now you can cross that off your list,” I told her, handing over her leggings and pulling up my jeans.

She put them on and looked herself over in the mirror, her face flush, her hair messed. “What else is on this list of yours?”

“You’ll find out,” I said, “and you’ll like it.”

Even though we were a bit disheveled, I unlocked the door and opened it, expecting to see an impatient woman on the other side of it, waiting for the bathroom.

I was right. But it wasn’t any woman. It was Jenn.

“Whoops, sorry to keep you waiting,” I said to her with a shit-eating grin.

Jenn’s jaw dropped as she looked at us both. I looked down at Perry, wondering if she was going to bolt or be embarrassed. But Perry had time to recover from the first meeting, she was high on orgasm endorphins, and the steady look on her face told me she hadn’t forgotten who Miss Anonymous was. This was her moment. This was her payback.

She smiled at Jenn, all confidence with a hint of smugness. “So sorry about Bradley.” She reached over and tapped Jenn’s shoulder sympathetically. “Don’t worry, you’ll meet someone one day. Just keep on truckin’.”

Then she walked away, head held high, hair still messy from sex. I waggled my brows at Jenn and hurried on after her. My woman was changing before my eyes and I was loving it. >