Hookup List (8 page)

Unfortunately, my body was leaden. It wouldn't react to the stimuli my brain was sending it. My eyes couldn't seem to focus on the bodies of the girls, I could just feel their hands on mine.

"Take his boxer briefs off!" one of the girls said excitedly.

I felt my boxer briefs being pulled off my body. There was another round of giggles. "He is so freakin perfect!" one of the girls squealed. "Why can't all boys be like this?"

They left no part of my body unexplored. I was in heaven
again, I just wished I could reciprocate. "Do you like this, Nate?" they would ask. I would nod and they would giggle. "How about this? Try this to him. Nate, how does this feel? OMG he's so cute!" They worked some type of evil spell on me, keeping me in a frustrated state of perpetual arousal. My clouded mind couldn't make sense of all the different sensations I was feeling at once. Giggles, squeals, massages, gropes... It all merged together in my brain areas one massive sexual experience. It was euphoric and terrifying at the same time.

After what must have been hours passed, with the girls slipping me small amounts of the red drink, I became aware that they were putting my clothes back on me. "You were amazing,” I heard
Carly tell me as I drifted in an out of consciousness. "I mean, you didn't do much but your body was all we needed. It was the best I have ever enjoyed. I think this is just the beginning of a very enjoyable and mutually beneficial relationship. You belong to us now, Nate. We are going to take care of you, trust me. Now, sweetie, we're taking you to the party to show you off. Girls, where's that pink thong we bought? Yeah, put that on him so we can get some pictures. We can always use some more blackmail material. Come on Dorothy, just yank it on. So what if it's too small? With the headache he's going to have tomorrow a little compressed package action is going to be the least of his concerns. He did lose our game, after all. He has to lose some of his masculinity for that. Good, now put his jeans on. Yeah, overtop of the thong is fine. It'll be a nice little reminder of who he belongs to when he sobers up tomorrow. No girls, leave that undershirt off. Just put his long-sleeved shirt on and make sure to leave the top buttons undone. I want everyone to see that beautiful chest of his and be jealous. Isn't this amazing? He's like our own Ken doll. We have a personal male model we can play with, dress up, and do anything we want to."

I vaguely realized that I was moving again. The girls were quietly pulling me upstairs and shushing themselves, perhaps so
Carly's parents didn't come out to see what was going on. I blinked and then when I opened my eyes I was being pushed into the backseat of a car. Girls crowded in an either side of me and I realized that we were moving. My head lolled from side to side. I couldn't even muster up the strength to hold it up.

"Off to the party," one of the girls squealed. "This is going to be so much fun." Hands stroked me and one of the girls patted me between the legs fondly. "Sorry for the thong, Nathan. Better get used to it, though. You belong to El Diablo now and she's just getting warmed up."

"Chloe Walker’s past parties were legendary? Pish," one of the other girls said. "Wait 'till we show up with Nate. This party is going to take legendary to a whole new level.”

I didn’t realize we had stopped until I felt someone pulling me out of the car. I stumbled around for a moment when my feet hit the pavement and then looked up in awe. I was standing in front of some type of enormous building. It seemed like it should be a library or museum or something with its gigantic white pillars and sturdy brick façade. There was a ridiculously long garage attached to the building as well. I couldn’t seem to focus my eyes on it to be able to count how many cars it could house but I could safely say it was more cars than my entire family owned.

Girls ducked under my arms and guided me up the stairs towards the front door. This was good; I wanted to get back in a bedroom with these hot chicks as soon as possible. I leaned down to kiss one of them and suddenly
Carly appeared. I felt her hand slip between my legs. She squeezed and I doubled over as pain radiated through my body. She put her lips next to my ear.

“Remember to be a good boy,” she said. “If you’re not you’re going to regret it.”

That cut through my drunken stupor. I nodded and she kissed me lightly on the cheek and then thankfully released me. She turned around, brushed a few wayward strands of hair out of her eyes, and opened the door.

It seemed like the entire school student body was in the building. Music blasted down from the ceiling and people were crowded so close together that it was almost impossible to move. They were yelling at each other, competing to be heard, and dancing and guzzling drinks. The girls shoved their way through and pulled me along with them. People’s faces swirled around me but I thought I noticed quite a few watching me with the girls.

We passed through a crowded kitchen and then burst out into a backyard with an elaborately manicured lawn and garden and a beautiful pool surrounded by bricks. I stared down into the water and contemplated jumping in but it seemed that, once again, Carly had other ideas. She pushed me down onto a lawn chair, sat sideways on my lap, and promptly started making out with me.

Whatever.
If the girl wanted to kiss, I could kiss. I did my best to keep up to her ravenous lips and authoritative tongue. Meanwhile, I felt her furiously running her hands through my hair and caressing my face.

The make-out session lasted for an eternity. By the time
Carly was finished I was gasping for air. She patted my cheek and then stood up. “I need to freshen up,” she said loudly. She looked around at her girls and then frowned. “Wait, where are Whitney and Kylie?” she demanded.

“They stopped to talk to Cooper Kelley,” one of the other girls said. “They saw him in the kitchen.”

“Those little sluts,” Carly hissed. “Freshmen hotties are still freshmen. They’re off limits. Now look what Whitney and Kylie have done. We should leave a couple girls to watch Nate but I can’t go to the restroom without at least, like, five girls with me. That would look pathetic. Okay, we’re going to have to leave him alone. Let’s just be quick about it. Girls, make sure to hold hands as we go through that mob so we don’t get separated.”

When I looked up I was all alone. I looked around in confusion. The faces I saw were blurry. I stumbled to my feet. How many of those drinks had the girls made me
swallow?

“Excuse me,” someone said. “I don’t think we’ve met and I want to introduce myself. I’m Liam Hall.”

I swung my head around to try to find the source of the voice. After a moment or two I noticed an athletic-looking guy with brown hair and blue eyes. “What?” I said. “Oh, I’m Nate Caldwell.” At least it didn’t sound like I was slurring too much. Maybe no one would notice how drunk I was.

“You look pretty wasted, man,” Liam said quietly. “You also put on quite a performance. Showing up with El Diablo herself while completely
krunked and then making out with her in front of the most popular people in school… It’s quite a statement.”

Shit. Is that what had happened? “Uh, I guess so,” I said.

“It looks like you need a moment or two alone to collect your thoughts,” the guy continued after staring at me for a moment. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you some breathing room.” He raised his voice and said loudly so everyone else could hear, “Hey bud, let’s get you some water.”

Liam grabbed one of my arms and wrapped it around his neck. He wrapped one of his own arms around my back and then led me away. I was relieved. Water was a fantastic idea. Why hadn’t I thought about that? I didn’t want to have a headache in the morning.

I looked down at my feet and concentrated on moving them one step at a time. When I finally looked up again I was confused. I had expected Liam to take me to the kitchen but instead we were somewhere outside beside the house. The sounds of people talked and the muted music seemed far away.

“Where’s the water?” I asked. Did he mean for me to drink out of a hose?

“I’ll take you inside in a minute,” Liam said as he unwrapped my arm from around his neck and let me lean up against the house. “I just figured you could use a few minutes away from those girls. From the looks on their faces they didn’t intend to leave you alone for long.”

“Yeah, thanks,” I said. “They’re hot, dude, but man they’re crazy.”

Liam smiled. “You don’t have to do that with me,” he said.

“Do what?” I asked. I rubbed my eyes with my hands to try to get them to focus.

“Pretend,” Liam said. “You don’t have to pretend with me. I used to do that all the time. You know, put on a big display with the ladies so everyone would think I was a ladies’ man. I recognize the act. No one is crazy enough to take on El Diablo unless, say, he’s new to the school and wants to make a statement.”

I had no idea what this kid was talking about. Was he calling my make-out session with
Carly an act? Well, it was, sort of. I was feeling so intoxicated I was barely even horny. Why had I still agreed to kiss Carly? Because it would hurt my reputation if I refused to kiss a hot girl who wanted to kiss me? Because I wanted to look cool in front of everyone? Because I didn’t want Carly to make a scene if I refused and reveal some of the kinkier details of what had happened back at the house? Had Liam figured all that out? If so, he had to be some kind of genius.

Liam had backed up to give me some space but now he took a step towards me. “I pretended for so long that I didn’t know how to stop pretending. That’s when Sadie Anderson changed my life.”

What?! My head jerked up as soon as I heard Sadie’s name. I couldn’t get away from that girl. Had the hussy made out with this guy as well? Damn, she got around.

“She taught me that it was okay to be myself but you know what? She didn’t pressure me to out myself either,” Liam said. “She gave me back the power over my own life and that changed everything.”

“Ugh, that girl is a know-it-all,” I said. “She won’t leave me alone.”

Liam smiled knowingly. “You might hate it now but in the end you’ll thank her,” he said. “Pretending to be something you’re not will drive you insane.”

I sighed. This guy was deep. He was seeing right into my soul in a way that no one – not even Aaron – could. I had secretly yearned for someone to understand me that well my whole life. “You’re right,” I heard myself saying. “I’ve been through a lot of shit, you know? And yeah, maybe I act like a badass who doesn’t care about anything, but that’s not me. Oh man, I don’t know why I’m saying this. It’s got to be the alcohol. How did you figure me out so quickly, though? Am I really that fake?”

Liam was beaming now. “When you walked past me in the kitchen the girls were holding your arms so that your shirt rode up. I got a glance of what was unmistakably a pink thong. I don’t know a lot of guys who wear a pink thong, do you? Then I followed you into the backyard and I saw
Carly practically suck your face off while you didn’t seem to be having any fun at all. I put two and two together.”

Thong?
Oh shit. I suddenly became aware of a very uncomfortable feeling between my legs. Those girls really were crazy. I thought it had been a dream. So Liam had figured out that I had been emasculated by a bunch of girls and that I was playing along so that people would think that I was a badass at heart.

“Hey, thanks man,” I said after I had processed that. “It means a lot to have so much support from a total stranger. You’re a cool dude.” Why did I always call people “dude” or “man” when I was drunk? I barely knew what I was saying. “Let’s hang out sometime. Give me your number.”

Liam looked downright kiddy now. He must have been as desperate for friends as I was. “Maybe I should just put it in your phone so you don’t forget,” he said. “No offense but I think your memory might be a bit spotty tomorrow morning.”

“Good idea,” I said. “It’s, uh, in my pocket.” I fumbled around with my pocket but for some reason I lost my balance and nearly fell.

Liam closed the remaining distance between us quickly and steadied me with his hand. “Don’t worry,” he said with a laugh. “I can get it.” Liam reached into my pocket, fished around, and pulled out the phone. He entered some numbers and then slipped the phone back in my pocket. “Make sure to call me,” he said. “You seem like a really great guy and it’s nice to hang around someone with, well, you know, a secret like mine. Now let’s get you back to the party before someone starts to wonder what we’re doing back here. I don’t think either of us is ready to out ourselves yet. High school can be hard enough, you know?”

“Yeah, of course,” I mumbled. I thought about
Carly. If she got back and I wasn’t there I was afraid of what she might do to this kid.

Liam helped me back to the backyard. I was suddenly so tired that he practically had to drag me. He kept on touching and feeling my abdomen as he led me back. Perhaps he knew that I was starting to feel a little queasy.

When we got back into the backyard I groaned. Carly and her friends were there and they did not look happy. Carly had her hands planted firmly on her hips and when she saw me her eyes filled with anger.

The girls made a beeline for me but someone else intercepted me first. “He doesn’t look so good,” a male voice said. “I think I should get him home.”

I looked up and saw Dylan’s unsmiling face and goofy hair. What a buzz kill.

“Good idea,” Liam said. “He was looking a little rough so I helped him walk around a bit but that doesn’t seem to have done much good. I was just about to get him a glass of water.”

“Perfect. You get him some water and then I’ll drive him home. I just need to get my car, I had to park several blocks away and he’s never going to be able to make the walk,” Dylan said. He looked around. “Hey, Paul!” he called out. “Yeah, Paul Dolan!”

A tall, brutish-looking guy with a red cup in each hand approached. “What’s up, Myers?” he asked.

“Can you make sure Nate – this guy – stays right here? It’s important. You’d be doing Sadie a big favor,” Dylan said.

The big guy perked up at hearing Sadie’s voice. I groaned.
That girl again? She wasn’t a goddess or something. What was up with the guys at this school?

“I’ll make sure he stays right here until you get back,” Paul said firmly. He paused to belch and then continued. “Don’t worry. No one will take him.”

“Uh, yeah, good. Thanks Paul,” Dylan said and then he hurried off. Liam walked inside to get me a glass of water after a comforting pat on the back. I hope he hurried. My stomach was really starting to go crazy. It felt all warm and sickly. I sat down on one of the pool chairs to try to stave off vomit.

“Nate!” a shrill voice cried out.
Carly came stomping over to me with the rest of her girls in tow. “Where were you? You were supposed to stay where I left you. Come one, we’re going back inside.”

“Not until Dylan gets back,” Paul said. He stepped between me and the girls so that all I could see what his back. “That guy is staying right where he is. Sadie doesn’t want him to move.”

Carly let out a screech that could only be described as a war cry. I winced as the high-pitched sound annihilated my eardrums. I stared down past Paul’s legs to the pool that was only a foot or so away and imagined my stomach immersed in its cool embrace. It didn’t help. I wondered if I could prevent disaster by lying down on the chair and dismissed the notion. I was too far along for that. I started considering how long I would have if I stood up and sprinted for the garden.

In the middle of my mental fog I was peripherally aware that some sort of struggle was going on.

“Let me go!” I heard Carly yell. “He’s coming with me.”

“I’m warning you,” Paul said ominously.
   

Girls started to yank on my arms. “Don’t,” I tried to warn them but speaking made me want to throw up.

“Hey Caldwell, how about you take your harem and go?” someone sneered. I looked up briefly. It was Bryson. A fight with him was the last thing I needed right now. I did my best to ignore him.

Girls were screeching and pulling on my arms. Bryson was mocking me. Paul was yelling. Everyone in the immediate vicinity had stopped talking and was staring at the circus that was unfolding with me at its center. I just focused on not throwing up. It couldn’t get any worse.

And there was fine final scream that drowned out all the others. It was followed only a second later by a loud splash. I looked up in horror and saw Carly completely immersed in the swimming pool.