Prom Ch. 13: Forbidden Fruit

***

Rachel's jaw tightened and she pushed her chin roughly between her bent knees. Her eyes flicked nervously around her closet as the memories swirled. Digging deep, she shut her eyes tight as her brow rippled with anxious tension.

She recalled how she'd been so excited that night for the next time she'd be seeing her friend. She'd imagined it would likely be the next day. The girls would get together and debrief over their respective nights. Rebecca would surely have some fun story about that boy. And maybe Rachel would have a silly tale of her own. They'd giggle and laugh and roll their eyes.

And they'd smile. Smile at each other.

The strained tightness in Rachel's jaw cracked as another sob leaked out and began a new round of crying. She could still picture Rebecca's face at that moment she'd left the party. It was a blurry image now but she could see it when she concentrated. Her wavy, dark hair and that playful, mischievous smile illuminated by a pair of dancing green eyes. The warmth. The love.

Rachel trembled softly and dug her fingers back through her hair. She wished desperately that the image was clearer.

Because it was the last time her friend had ever looked at her that way.

***

After Rebecca left, Rachel remained in her comfy seat on the couch for some time. She made small talk with the boys around her and joked and laughed as she joined the circle of smokers. She realized she had been there for a while when she looked around the room and noticed the party had thinned out considerably. She also realized that there were definitely some people she didn't recognize. Some kids from a different school. Xavier, maybe.

Beyond that, some faces she recognized and some she didn't. But she was feeling pleasantly high and mellow as she leaned back deeply into the couch cushion. Her powder blue shirt had gotten several more lustful looks and her tight dark jeans complimented the outfit nicely. But strangely, none of these boys had actually approached her and she felt a slight tinge of disappointment that she hadn't gotten to flirt or potentially have any fun of her own. Outside of her little act with Brad, of course...

"Well I hope you're happy."

Rachel jerked her head up to the side towards a voice she hadn't even realized was there. She widened her eyes but then grinned innocently as she saw Brad's smiling face looking down at her. She noticed he was alone and the small feeling of guilt hit her stomach again. Had she screwed him up with that girl? She raised her brow and gave him her best act. She didn't want him to figure out that it had been intentional. Then she'd really feel bad.

"What are you talking about?"

Brad shook his head and plopped down on the couch next to her, almost onto her lap. She tensed a bit as she felt his body push up against hers.

"I'm talking about you having the worst timing I've ever seen. Your little line jumping maneuver screwed me over pretty good with that chick. I definitely had her-." He stopped and smiled. His eyes darted quickly over Rachel's body and he laughed. "Whatever. You owe me though!"

Rachel gave him a playful shove and rolled her eyes. "Hey, I'm sorry about your, well, whatever she was. But I don't owe you anything. I saw an open seat and sat my butt down. End of story."

"Yeah, you and your butt." Brad grinned at her. "Sorry, but I'm not buying it. I'll decide later what you owe me."

Rachel felt herself tense again. Brad had never actually made direct insinuations towards her before, due to Rebecca. She was pretty high and she wondered if maybe she was misreading him, but it appeared that he was eying her up pretty good and being kind of suggestive.

Smoking weed didn't have the same inhibition-killing effects on Rachel as drinking did, but it did make her feel warm and relaxed. Plus, while she didn't admit this to anyone, it also accentuated her pleasure when she actually was hooking up. It just made all of the sensations more intense. So while it didn't make her more likely to give in to someone's advances, it did make her enjoy it more when she did.

She leaned back away from Brad as she again registered their closeness. She had definitely gone a bit far with her joke on him earlier and she didn't want him to get any ideas now. She did feel guilty about messing up his shot with the other girl but that didn't mean she was going to step into her shoes. She thought Brad was cute, but she wasn't going to do that to Rebecca, no matter how ridiculous she felt her friend was being about the whole situation.

Straightening up and shifting her weight, she shot Brad a serious, but still playful, expression.

"I don't know what crazy thoughts are going through that head, but you can stop that train right no-."

Rachel froze as a voice cut her off and interrupted her. A shiver went down her spine and she held in her breath at the familiar sound. She swallowed and brought her gaze in the direction of the sound.

"Hey, hey, what are you kids talking about?"

Matt.

Rachel felt every muscle in her body tense up as Matt plopped down happily on the couch next to Brad. His eyes met hers and he flashed a cautious (but not entirely worried) smile at her. Rachel pulled her head back and felt her jaw tighten. She smiled back weakly and moved her hand reflexively to cover her cleavage.

Rachel hadn't seen Matt too much since the ugly night they had met. She had stewed with regret about what she'd done for him and she had been pretty sure that she'd never speak another word to him again. However, to his credit, he'd approached both her and Rebecca one night at a party a few weeks later and genuinely apologized to them both. He'd told them that he knew he had been an asshole and he didn't expect them to forgive him but he hoped that they didn't hate him. The girls had just stared back blankly and he'd walked away with a nod. And he hadn't really bothered them since.

Rebecca had cursed his name the second he'd left and said explicit things about what he could do with himself. Rachel had still been angry at him as well, but she hadn't had the same humiliating encounter that her friend had had. So while she was residually angry at him through Rebecca, his offer at a truce seemed at least reasonable.

She had no interest in being friendly with him but she decided that she had better things to waste her energy on than hating him passionately like Rebecca did. She had seen Matt once or twice since his apology and had even exchanged a polite greeting each time. She didn't want him around, but she could be civil if he was making the effort as well.

But this was the most directly he had ever engaged her since. He'd interrupted her talking and just plopped down on the couch like the three of them were old friends. Rachel didn't really like it but she again decided she wouldn't make a big deal of anything if he didn't. Rebecca wasn't there so there was no need to lock arms with her friend and pick up the pitchforks.

Rachel loved her friend to death but Rebecca could get so emotional and passionate and sometimes having to cosign onto all of her issues could be exhausting. She understood why she hated Matt so she didn't blame her at all. But the Brad thing, and a few others, had sometimes left her rolling her eyes but keeping her mouth shut.

As Rachel worked through her thoughts, Brad sensed the tension and moved to try to diffuse it.

"Oh, nothing. Just discussing with Rachel how her little stunt completely cock-blocked me with Sarah. God, she was pissed, huh bro? She made it sound like she walked in on me and Rachel-."

Bread paused and shot Rachel a grin. She tensed excitedly at his suggestive words. He wasn't implying anything, but simply putting the image out there made it feel a little more real. Rachel was already mellowed out nicely and Brad's words immediately forced her to picture herself kneeling in front of him somewhere. She tingled again and shook her head at the image. No, Rachel...

She cleared her throat and laughed sarcastically as she explained again how she had done nothing wrong. Matt jumped in and made a little joke which Rachel strangely found herself smiling at. She remembered how quick Matt had been with his words the night they'd met when he'd successfully deflected her tirade. He was slick, and as it turned out, pretty funny. She felt herself relax and soon she was smiling in surprise at how the easily the three of them got along as they laughed and joked over the next several minutes. They each smoked a bit more, and despite it being a very odd grouping, the air felt light and breezy.

They had been talking for maybe fifteen minutes when Matt leaned forward and raised an eyebrow at his friend.

"So, what is it exactly that you think she owes you again?"

Rachel swallowed at his words and felt her stomach flutter as he continued to take the conversation back to a more suggestive place.

"You know, because, there are some things that she does pretty well..."

Matt glanced over at Rachel and gave her the slightest hint of a knowing nod. They had been laughing together for a while now and this was the warmest she'd been towards him since they had met. He didn't want to piss her off but he felt comfortable in taking a playful leap. He couldn't help it. It was how he was.

Rachel sucked in a breath and nearly coughed as she took in his words and the impact of what he was implying. She felt a rush of electricity run through her and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She could suddenly picture herself in that bathroom that night. Her low-cut white sweater and short skirt. Her bare knees pressed against the cold, hard tile. Her palms resting against Matt's thighs. Her mouth-.

She shuddered with a rush of confusing arousal. It was wrong and she didn't like Matt at all, but her body was betraying her. Memories like that always turned her on in a reflexive, primal way. And the mellowing effects of her smoking were only accentuating the feelings.

Brad swallowed hard at his friend's bold move. He half-expected Rachel to get off the couch and storm away. Or yell at Matt again. He held his breath and locked his eyes onto her. She looked a bit startled but a faint expression of relaxation crossed her face. It was almost a smirk. And she wasn't getting up. He felt himself stir as the thought crossed his mind as well.

Trying to hide his own nervousness, he responded. "Well, I, um-. I sadly wouldn't know about all that. But she definitely has some debt here. You know how Sarah is. She definitely would've given me a-."

He cut himself off with a hard swallow. Rachel had sucked in a breath and her chest was quivering gently. Brad knew that he and Matt were toeing a dangerous line making suggestive comments about blowjobs in front of her. He decided to back off, even though the thoughts were making him surge.

Matt, however, had no such internal sensor that told him when he was pushing too far. It sometimes got him in trouble, but it also led him to get things he never would have gotten otherwise. Some pretty great things. And one of those things was sitting a few feet away from him. He spoke again.

"Yeah, I do know how Sarah is. But lemme be crystal clear that the girl sitting next to you is a serious upgrade in that department. In fact, she's even an upgrade over another girl I think you used to know..."

Matt gritted his teeth. He almost got off on pushing farther and farther. It was like an exciting game to him. And he knew they both knew what girl he was referring to.

Brad sucked his breath in deeply and widened his eyes. His stomach twisted as he glanced nervously at Rachel to assess her impending reaction. He winced at Matt's implication but he otherwise stayed frozen and silent.

Rachel, on the other hand, was no longer registering cautious amusement. Her jaw clenched and her brows narrowed into a vicious scowl as she straightened up from her relaxed position and turned her body to face Matt directly. She brought her hand up and pointed at him menacingly as her voice came out in a low but forceful tone.

"Don't you even think her name," she spat. "I can't even believe you would say-." She swallowed hard and smirked with condescension. "Yeah, don't worry about her. She's doing just fine. In fact, I'd say she's probably doing really fucking fine right about now."

Rachel's words cut sharply through the air as she fiercely defended her friend. She was practically bragging about Rebecca's likely-occurring hookup with the boy she had found earlier. Her intention was to make Rebecca look powerful and superior to Matt. She wanted to stomp out his crude and degrading roundabout reference to what he'd done with her.

She felt her words hit their mark as she watched him recoil in a bit of a panic. She was about to reload and fire again when she flicked her fiery eyes over to Brad's face. She inhaled deeply and stopped herself as her stomach twisted.

Brad's eyes were full of surprised hurt and she realized suddenly that her barbs done more damage to him than to Matt. She'd just brazenly admitted that Rebecca had been doing just fine without him and insinuated that she was probably fucking some other guy at that very moment. She remembered that despite Rebecca's strange jealousy towards Brad now, she had been the one who'd ended their relationship. Not him.

Of course, plenty of blame rightfully belonged on his shoulders, but he had seemed genuinely hurt when she'd cut him out. She'd drunkenly had sex with him once or twice since their "breakup" and while Rachel could vividly recall the all-night crying sessions that followed each time, she realized that their encounters may have hurt and confused Brad every bit as much.

And now, on the heels of gleefully ruining his chances with some other girl out of sport, Rachel was indirectly twisting the knife deeper into Brad's stomach. She suddenly felt terrible and she gave him a sorrowful, apologetic look. Ignoring Matt for the moment, she leaned back into Brad and put a hand on his chest.

"Oh sweetie, look. I'm sorry! I didn't mean that-." She paused as she fumbled over her words, feeling like such a bitch. "I know that you two, um, well, I don't know. All I'm saying is that you shouldn't worry about her. She's doing fi-."

Rachel stopped again as she realized she was just making it worse. God! What was she doing to the poor boy? She should've just stayed out of the whole thing and left him alone. Now she was actually trying to comfort him just as she'd comforted Rebecca for the same reasons earlier. It was exhausting and ridiculous. She put her hand to his face and adjusted his gaze to face her.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. Really." She felt a little better as she saw his sad expression give way to the beginnings of a gentle smile. He nodded subtly.

"Nah, it's okay. Thanks."

Rachel smiled in return and began to pull back when she noticed Brad's eyes fall to her chest again, this time lingering for a moment. She swallowed hard and felt a surge in her jeans. He was definitely looking at her with more than a touch of desire and the view he had was nothing if not enticing.

Her shirt neckline was already dangerously low, and in her twisted position, she had pushed her boobs up together making her cleavage pop out even further. A gold heart locket rested gently on her chest and it rose and fell hypnotically with her breath. She tingled again as his eyes came back to hers. A dirty vision flashed across her brain.

During various girl-talk sessions, Rebecca had (on more than one occasion) mentioned how much she loved Brad's dick. She said it was a nice size and shape and she just liked it. Liked it inside her. She said Brad knew what he was doing when they had sex and the thought had always gotten Rachel a little hot seeing as she could literally picture the act after she'd walked in on them that night at that party.

She trembled as she took stock of the situation. She was definitely in a more intimate position with Brad than she'd ever been. She was almost pushed up against him and he was very clearly undressing her with his eyes. She quickly pictured her mouth on him and shivered at the sensation of how it might feel. How he might taste.

Due to Rebecca, Brad had always had a bit of a forbidden fruit quality to him. And now she was sitting up close to him and the innuendo of her giving him a blowjob had been put into the air several times during the conversation. She also felt a large pit forming in her stomach as her guilt over toying with him earlier and flaunting Rebecca's status continued to flood through her. Brad was smiling at her weakly but she knew she had hurt him. She felt like maybe she did owe him...

Matt broke her thoughts with a stammering apology. "Look, I'm-. Yo, don't listen to me. I'm sorry. Sometimes I just say stupid shit. I didn't mean to-." He looked down towards his feet in a rare moment of speechless embarrassment.

Rachel glanced over at him and sighed. She almost felt a little bad for him, too. God, why did she feel such ridiculous ways? He had just been a dick but she now felt guilty for yelling at him. And Brad! Brad was a big boy and she didn't owe him anything. Yet, as she looked over both boys, she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd been the one who'd done something wrong. She couldn't believe the words as they trickled from her lips.

"No, it's okay. I'm sorry, too."

She flinched in disbelief. She was apologizing? For what?? For calling Matt on his bullshit? For rightfully defending her friend whom he had humiliated? She hadn't even really yelled at him! She'd simply responded firmly. What was wrong with her?

Rachel looked back at Brad and held in her breath as she again caught his eyes on her chest. He was still smiling weakly but a slight sparkle was back in his eye. He gave her a little grin and spoke.

"So, um, an upgrade, huh?"

He said it cautiously but he was also coursing with nervous excitement as he took in her body and pictured her sucking his dick. Truthfully, he had pictured it many, many times before. But this was different. It had always been an impossible fantasy due to his situation with Rebecca. But now? He stirred again.

Rachel's eyes widened and she pulled away from him. She searched his face wildly as she comprehended his first ever direct suggestion to her. She broke into a nervous smile and raised an eyebrow like he was making a joke. She started to speak when Matt cut her off.

"Dude, for real! Believe me, we both know what 'whatshername' is capable of, but this one here?" He smiled brightly at both of them and exhaled with a shake of his head. "Definite upgrade. You definitely gotta get a little of that."

Rachel shot Matt an incredulous look, and although it didn't really reflect her feelings, she found herself letting a surprised smile form on her face. She couldn't believe the two of them were talking about her like that. Right in front of her! Just casually discussing the caliber of her blowjobs. Matt recommending her to his friend like he was making a movie suggestion.

Her brain suddenly flashed back to the night she had been with Matt and how he had begun to practically offer her up to the guy who had knocked on the door while they'd been in the bathroom. She had slickly played it off but she'd been shocked at how brazen he'd been. It had insulted her but also strangely turned her on.

Even through it was the crudest and most hollow form of flattery, it was still a way of him complimenting her. And now he was doing it again, overtly encouraging Brad to try to talk her into parting her lips for him. Her heartbeat quickened as she felt equal surges of nervousness, excitement, and arousal. But she wasn't really going to-.