Selling the Drama (9 page)

Ellie looked at Charlotte warily, nodding
slowly. "Yeah, of course we do. What's wrong?"

"Toby wasn't winking and smiling at you,
Ellie." She gestured with her head to the row in front, where some
guys supporting the other team were seated. "He's, well, you know,
a homo." She paused for effect, delighting in the way Ellie's face
registered her obvious shock. "I know, a sad day for all women, but
there you have it." She patted Ellie on the knee, trying to look as
sympathetic as she could. "Too bad, but hey, have you seen number
seven on the other side? He's a sexy beast. He was totally checking
you out just before." Charlotte pretended to fan herself.
"Hot."

Ellie searched out number seven. "Ooh,
you're right, he is hot."

Satisfied at having prevented a calamity,
she sought out Toby on the field, giving him a wink and a smile as
she caught his eye.

"You told her what?!" Toby looked at
Charlotte, unable to believe what he'd just heard come out of her
mouth. "You can't say shit like that! What is wrong with you?"

Charlotte pouted, her hands on her hips.
"Ellie was going to come on to you. She was going to try and sink
her claws into what's mine and there was no way I was about to let
that happen."

Her possessiveness was thrilling, yet the
excitement of it was considerably dampened by the fact she had told
her best friend he was a fag. She had no idea, standing there in
front of him, what damage she had possibly done to his reputation.
People believed this sort of shit, hung onto it, recycled it and
built it up into something they could later smash you to pieces
with. He knew this; he had seen it, had participated in doing it to
other people. He pointed at her, angry at her impulsiveness, at her
uncontained jealousy. "You need to fix this before she spreads it
around. I'm not kidding, fix it!" He picked up his kit bag and
headed to his room, intent on having a shower. He was hot, filthy,
covered in sweat, and now completely pissed off.

He threw his bag on the floor and pulled his
jersey up over his head. Charlotte appeared in the doorway, a
contrite expression upon her face.

"I'm sorry. For upsetting you. I couldn't
help it. It was either tell her that or throw her down the stands.
I went with the wrong option, I'm only human." She gave him a shrug
and then entered the room, crossing to stand before him. She lifted
her hand and placed her fingertip onto his stomach, running her
fingernail along the waistband of his shorts.

"Yeah, well, you still need to fix it." He
trembled as she hooked her finger into his shorts, taking a step
closer to him.

"I will. I'll ring her soon. She won't be
home yet, I diverted her attentions so I expect she'll be quite
busy about now. I'll make something up, don't worry. But you have
to try and understand where I was coming from. It's hard just
sitting and listening to your friend talk about how much she wants
to get your boyfriend's dick inside of her." She leaned forward,
pressing her lips to the centre of his chest, kissing him lightly
before drawing back to inhale his skin.

Putting his hands onto her hips, he squeezed
them gently. "She wanted my dick in her? And you intercepted
that?"

Charlotte hit him then, in the middle of the
chest, right where her lips had caressed him only moments ago. "Say
that again, arsehole!"

He laughed, reaching out for her once more,
wedging his hands into the back pockets of her jeans, pulling her
up against him. "The most ridiculous thing about this, is that
you've completely overlooked the fact that I wouldn't have said yes
to her. I would have blown her off, and that would have been the
end of it. Give me some credit. Why would I want her, when I can
have you?"

Charlotte trailed her tongue along his jaw.
"If I hadn't said something then, I would've had to sit and listen
to her go on and on about how hot you are, how big she thinks your
dick is, what she was going to let you do to her, and so on, and so
on. I have had these conversations before, they never change. I
can't listen to that about you. I just can't."

Her sincerity was obvious and Toby felt
himself give in to her. Trailing his fingers down her spine, he
kissed her behind her ear. "How about I go and have a shower and
then you can make it up to me in whatever way you want."

"No." Charlotte latched onto him, curling
her arms around his neck and sinking her teeth into the fleshy part
of his chest, sucking and biting. He gasped, flinching at the
sensation, pulling her closer and feeling himself grow hard for
her.

"Charlotte, I'm so dirty. Seriously, I won't
take long to have a shower."

She pulled her mouth from his chest, licking
the mark she'd just made. "No. I like you dirty. You can have a
shower later."

Toby looked down at her, his gaze resting on
her mouth. He loved her lips, especially the pout of her bottom
lip. She didn't have her braces anymore, and while they had done
nothing to detract from her beauty before, their absence matured
her appearance. He leaned forward and took her bottom lip into his
mouth, sucking on it gently. She pressed herself close to his
groin, rocking against him. As he sucked on her lip, she undid her
jeans, and then started in on the buttons of her shirt, throwing
that off, her bra landing on the floor seconds later. His hands
landed on her hips and he pushed at her jeans, getting them down to
her thighs. She did the rest, using her feet to shimmy out of them
while her hands yanked down his shorts.

Toby could see the door to his bedroom was
still open. His eyes sought out the clock, twenty five past five,
maybe twenty minutes left until Iris got home, let herself in
through the front door and walked past his room, the first door in
the hall. Maybe less. Toby stuck his tongue into Charlotte's mouth,
seeking hers, his hands covering her backside. Cars drove along the
street; a hose sprang to life, the next door neighbour beginning
her afternoon watering session. Dogs barked and children called out
to each other as they rode along on their bikes. The clock counted
down, only a possible fifteen minutes remaining. Toby picked
Charlotte up and she wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing
the heat of herself up against him, the wetness of her teasing him,
driving him out of his head crazy to sink inside of her. Backing up
with her in his arms, he sat as his legs found the seat of his desk
chair, still holding onto Charlotte, sinking her down onto himself,
clapping his hand over her mouth as he did so, muffling her
screamed out, "Toby!" It was only on account of silencing her that
he heard Iris's car pull into the drive. Iris called out to her
neighbour, their voices carrying over the yard, filtering into the
room through the open window. Releasing her mouth, his eyes fixed
on hers, Toby pulled Charlotte against him, holding her firmly as
he emptied himself inside of her, his teeth sinking into her
shoulder to control his own urge to call out.

As Iris bid her neighbour farewell and made
her way up the stairs to the front door, Charlotte ducked into her
own room and Toby slipped into the shower of their shared bathroom.
As he washed the day's football game away and the scent of her off
his skin, he listened to her talking to her mother, her laughter
light and her tone even. He imagined her, standing there in the
doorway of her bedroom, her hair pulled into a hasty ponytail, a
lopsided smile on her face, and all that he had just poured into
her soaking her still.

He was a slave to her. There was no use even
thinking he had a chance at living without her. She was stitched
into him, threaded into every bit of muscle and sinew, running
through every drop of blood, an infusion he was sure he would die
without.

Charlotte ate her dinner with little talk;
Toby had the floor anyway, yakking on about his football match,
dissecting the game in such a way it had ceased to even be a
football game. It was more, a being all of its own, his adoration
for it a little bit stunning, slightly confusing, and as much as
she would never admit it to his face, a tiny bit boring. But that
was alright, because he had Dad hanging on his every word and Mum
listening with her fan girl face on, leaving Charlotte to relive,
in her head, the most amazing sex she had ever had. Her shoulder
still ached from where he had bitten it to stop himself from
yelling out and drawing attention to them, but it was a good ache,
an ache that made her ache in other places. Although, it might not
be a bad idea to douse it in some disinfectant, just to be on the
safe side. It would be an awkward thing to explain to her mother if
she ended up with an infected shoulder.

She and Toby had not spoken since this
afternoon; there had not been an opportunity yet. Charlotte was
beginning to despise this secrecy. First having to endure her best
friend lusting after him and now not being able to hold his hand
underneath the table or lean against him if she felt like it or
kiss him on the back of the neck unless they were locked away in a
dark room. She didn't think she would be able to stand it for much
longer. Stealing a glance at her parents, assured their attention
was fixed above the table, below, Charlotte reached out with her
hand and made contact with Toby's leg, and on his thigh she drew a
heart with her finger before pulling her hand back onto her own
lap. If he noticed, he didn't let on, but she hadn't expected him
to.

And that was why she couldn't stand this
anymore.

"Dad, can I talk to you about something
important?" Charlotte lingered in the doorway of her parent's
bedroom, her father sitting back on the couch reading the paper
while her mother was in the shower.

"Sure can pretty little lady." He patted the
cushion beside him. "Plonk yourself down here and have at it."

She fell onto the couch beside him, tucking
her legs up underneath her body and leaning her head onto his
shoulder. "Dad, do you like Toby?"

"Yes. I do. He's a good boy." Her father
folded the paper in half and dropped it onto the floor.

"Do you trust him?"

"Yes. He hasn't done anything to give me a
reason not to."

Charlotte pondered her next words. She
hadn't really planned out this conversation past the initial
thought that she was having it. She was going to speak to her dad.
Tonight. And then that was it. She decided to just plunge in, take
her chances. "I like him." Stealing a glance at her father, she saw
him smile.

"Yes. I figured that."

"When?"

"At the airport when we picked him up nine
months ago."

"Dad!" She swatted him affectionately on the
arm. "Be serious!"

"Charlotte, it's very obvious. To me anyway.
It's alright for you to like him. He's not your brother. He's no
relation. It was always going to be a possibility and your mother
and I discussed this before we agreed to take him in. I am somewhat
surprised it's taken you this long to have this conversation with
me."

Charlotte shrugged at that. "Toby hasn't
wanted to go out with me. He said he felt as though it might be
taking advantage of what you and Mum are doing for him."

Her father nodded before leaning down to
give her a kiss on the top of her head. "And that, is part of the
reason why I like that boy so much and have no problems with you
two being a couple. He has integrity and he's honest. You can't get
much better than that. Which is what I told him earlier tonight
when he came and chatted to me much like you are right now, except
he sat in a different chair to me and didn't put his head on my
shoulder. I didn't kiss him either; I like him, but he's not my
type." He laughed heartily, giving Charlotte's shoulder an
affectionate squeeze.

"Dad!! What? Are you serious? Toby came and
talked to you? What did he say?" Charlotte sat up straight, looking
at her father with some shock, and not a little nervousness at what
he might now possibly know.

Her father smiled knowingly. "Well, that's
between Toby and I. But he came to me and asked me if it was
alright for him to be your boyfriend. Because apparently, he is in
love with you. At least, that's what he said to me."

Charlotte sat stunned. That he had done
this, the one thing he feared, to come right out and expose their
relationship in such a disarmingly honest fashion. She put her hand
to her chest, as if she could still the heavy thumping of her heart
by containing it that way. "What did you say to him?"

"That's the bit that's between Toby and I.
You need to know three things: I said yes to the boyfriend bit. I
told him to buy some condoms. And I told him he sleeps in his own
room, and you sleep in yours and you do not ever put your mother
and me in the position of having to regret having you both under
the same roof. There are some things I just don't want to see. You
read me?" He looked at her carefully as she nodded her agreement,
then he pat her gently on the shoulder before rising from the
couch. "I'm going to have a shower. Night."

"Mum's still in there."

"I know." He winked at her as he turned to
cross the room.

"Dad! There are some things I just don't
want to know either!" Charlotte felt her cheeks heat and she stood,
a mental image now at the fore that should not be in her head,
ever.

"Then you'd better head off downstairs,
missy. Have a nice night."

She turned to leave but then spun on her
heel, dashing across the room to leap on her father, her arms
curling around his neck. "I love you, Daddy."

He lifted her off of her feet with a full
body squeeze. "I know. I love you too."

After he released her Charlotte hurried down
the stairs and made straight for Toby's room. He wasn't there, so
she backtracked to her own, smiling when she saw him lying back
against her pillows, reading a naughty fairy-tale. She closed the
door behind her and launched herself onto the bed, landing right on
top of him. She proceeded to kiss him repeatedly all over the face
until he was able to get his bearings and laughingly push her back
for air.