“You really think we should be doing this?” Mallory wrung her hands visibly as she spoke the words.

“Trust me, this guy’s okay,” Vanessa said to the younger girl. “And if he does try anything, I’ll mace out his eyeballs.”

Vanessa wouldn’t have granted a ride to a long-haired drifter on a regular day, least of all with someone else in her charge, but she trusted her instincts and current circumstances demanded action.

She had first laid eyes on him back in the roadside diner hitting on a pretty blond waitress. “Wish I could serve you something in return,” he’d said when the girl gave him pie and coffee.

“I might let you, if you take me away from here.” The waitress’s glance was sweet and sly.

“Got no wheels, baby. We could always get acquainted round at your place. Might come back for you some day when I’ve hit it big.”

“I’m not sure my mom would like it if I brought you back.”

“Maybe I’m just the sorta guy she’d like you to take home. If you got your looks from her, it could be quite a party.”

“I can’t believe you said that, mister. I’m definitely not taking you home now.”

“Your loss, baby, your loss …” They were both laughing as she cleared away his plate and handed him the check.

Vanessa rolled her eyes and returned to her Caesar salad. The waitress’s short-term loss perhaps, but she doubted this guy had returned for anyone in his life. Backpack, innuendo and guitar, he was strictly on a one-way-ticket. When she slowed her Ford Mustang to take him in, she knew what limited kind of trouble he might bring. The kind to be embraced far from home, at the end of a self-inflicted sex drought. Of course there was another factor in her decision. She glanced at the girl in the passenger seat.

Mallory toyed with her fiancé’s bracelet as the hitch-hiker jaunted up to the car. He smiled and his angular features were instantly transformed. The warmth of his gaze drew a similar look from her, before she turned away embarrassed.

You checked him out in the diner along with me, baby, Vanessa thought. You were damn well fascinated. Only you didn’t think I’d noticed.

“Goddamn, you two are angels of the freeway!” He blasted a grin through the passenger window Vanessa had partially rolled down, his ponytailed hair fluttering in the breeze. He was a rumpled kind of attractive, in beat-up denim and faded Metallica t-shirt. In his late twenties, but with a swarthiness to his features from hard-living or time on the road. His eyes took a quick tour of Vanessa’s cleavage and her long body before checking out Mallory.

Vanessa applied a similar inspection to him. All compact and hard under the denim, as far as she could tell. Nothing to complain about. “Where you headed?”

“Chicago. How far can you take me?”

“All the way to the Windy City, that’s if you behave. I’ve popped the trunk. Throw your stuff in.”

“Sure thing.”

With guitar case and rucksack swiftly deposited, the newcomer threw himself across the back seat. “Thanks. You’re my kinda girls and that is my kinda music. Caught the Foos in concert last year at Radio City. They damn near blew the roof off. Love the ride too.” He took instant possession of the space, the arrogant shit. It amused Vanessa, even as it disconcerted Mallory.

“My uncle saved this from the scrap yard and fixed it up for his favorite niece. But she wanted a Corvette, so he gave it to me instead,” she said with a wink to him in the rear-view.

“Hey, I’ll bet you just flashed those gorgeous emerald eyes, Red, and he made it all yours.”

“That’s Vanessa.” She shot him a reproving look. “And Mallory, before you start with any choice nicknames for my traveling companion. Call me ‘Red’ again, buster, I’ll kick your ass out before the next intersection.”

“But it’s so you.” He backtracked when she raised an eyebrow. “Okay, okay. Vanessa. And Mallory. Good to meet you girls. I’m Jared.”

Jared. You so fucking are. No way you’d be Mike or David.

God, even the way he spoke his name made her wet.

They sped on through Pennsylvania’s rolling fields towards the Ohio border, cloud hanging high and motionless in the deepening blue of mid-afternoon, while she drew out threads of his back story. “I’m from Maple City, Michigan,” he explained. “Lived in Detroit for a while. Love the big city but just can’t get tied down there. Unless the restraints are tight.” She couldn’t help but smirk at the comment. “So right now I’m on the road, savoring life.”

“I’ll bet. Beats getting a job, right?”

“I’ve had more of those than I can count. Construction, touring with the carnival, dish-washer … Whatever gets me to the next adventure.”

“I hear you,” Vanessa said. “I work short-term retail and promotions. My friend Sammy and I were decked out as fucking leprechauns for St Pat’s. And I’m not even Irish, despite the hair.”

“Sexy,” Jared laughed. “Never had to stoop quite that low. But then I’ve always got the old six-string.”

“Ah, yes, you’re a troubadour. Headed for sweet home Chicago. Man of many talents.”

“You have no idea the talents I could show you, Vanessa. Maybe I’ll get to serenade you girls.”

“What do you think, Mal? Should we let Jared serenade us?”

“Eh … I …” The younger girl had lapsed into silence, leaving them to flirt. “Yeah, sure, that’d be fun.”

“Anyway,” Jared said, leaning forward and propping his elbows on the front seats, “what has you two gals headed for the bright lights?”

“Well, I,” Vanessa said, preening slightly, “am attending a collaborative art exhibit, of which my work will comprise one whole third.”

“Ms. Rembrandt, I’m impressed.”

Impressed my ass. You’d say anything to get your dick inside me. Although I’d be pissed if you didn’t try.

“Too early to be impressed,” she said. “One of the girls in my art course was Chicago-born and had the connections to get us a deal on renting some space. Give our stuff a little air.”

“What kind of stuff? You got a website?”

Credit to him for showing interest. “Portraits mainly. Some nudes.” She tossed out the reference casually.

“Self-portraits? Those I’d definitely check out.”

“Private viewings only, buddy.”

“We could arrange that. Maybe I’m a secret patron of the arts.”

“Yeah. Maybe.” Vanessa said coolly. “I don’t think he deserves a private anything, do you, Mal?” Her passenger smiled a little but said nothing.

Jared collapsed dramatically onto the back seat. “Damn, too much, too soon. Always my mistake.”

“And I’m guessing you make a lot of those.”

“On principle, baby.” His reflected glance showed pure carnality.

Vanessa let herself luxuriate in it a moment before returning her attention to the road. Mallory’s gaze was flicking back and forth between them with anthropological fascination. Vanessa took another shot at drawing her into the conversation.

“Now Mallory here is a girl with a proper future. I went to school with her big sister Annie, but Mal outshines the both of us when it comes to education. You’re breezing those finals aren’t you, honey?”

“What?” Mallory said, straightening up. “Well, I suppose so.”

“You’ll do better than I did then.” Jared turned his blue-eyed attention to the college girl. “Smart girl, sticking with your books.”

Mallory fumbled for a response. “You didn’t make it through college? Why not? Too much guitar?”

“Too much of a lot of things. I’m an eighteen-carat dropout. The only things I’ve given time to are the ones I picked up by trying. Me and studying didn’t go together.”

“Why not? You seem smart.”

“You’re a sweetheart to say it,” Jared replied. “But I lacked dedication, so I was told.

‘Jared, you’re a waste of a perfectly good intellect. You lack all dedication.’” He’d adopted a prim feminine tone that made Mallory laugh.

“Who told you that?”

“Miss Steele, my high school history teacher. She dumped my ass in detention all the fuckin’ time. I only took it because she was hot.”

Mallory giggled, clearly warming to him. “You had a crush on your teacher? That’s cute.”

“Yeah, but tragically, Mallory, she didn’t succumb to my charm. Not quite. Maybe this high school kid wasn’t as charming as he thought.”

“I don’t know … Maybe she was just being professional. You don’t know what she was really thinking.”

“This is true. What about you, Mal? I’m sure you’ve had a few teachers’ heads in a spin.”

Mallory’s cheeks reddened. It gratified Vanessa to see her flustered. “Oh, I don’t know. I had a boyfriend, so I wasn’t paying so much attention to hot teachers. I’m still with him. His name’s Chad, he’s in college in Chicago. That’s where Vanessa’s taking me.”

Vanessa cringed. Chad. The jock-archetype. Daddy’s pride and joy. Arm-candy for a high school princess, but fuck-all use for anything else. The guy had hit on Vanessa at Annie’s barbecue the previous summer, while Mallory was on bun-duty. And he’d fucked around on Mallory with one of her high school friends. That much Annie had confided to Vanessa. But Mallory had taken him back against all advice to the contrary. To make matters worse she had brushed off two-college years’ worth of male advances to be true to her high school sweetheart. Just a shame to see good faith wasted on a jerkoff. It was Vanessa’s sister Laura all over again. Mallory would be married and knocked up before she realised her jock-husband was stuffing himself to the balls inside every willing girl with a pulse. The situation screamed for remedy.

“Can’t you talk to her?” Annie had pleaded the night prior to the road trip. “She looks up to you.”

Maybe, but sometimes love was blind. Sometime it was downright stupid.

“Yeah, Mallory’s guy is a football hotshot at Northwestern,” Vanessa said to Jared while flashing him some irony via the mirror. Here was a ball she hoped he would run with. “He’s working over spring break. I’m dropping her off so she can get caught up for a few days.”

“Wow, Mal, your guy’s one in a million,” he smirked, and Vanessa knew her faith in this rogue would be rewarded.

Mallory peered around at him. “What do you mean?”

“He’ll be the only dude on campus studying through the holiday. Academic high-flier?”

“Well, no, he wasn’t an A-student, but he’s changed, you know?” Oh-oh, the girl was getting defensive. “He’s asked me to marry him. Said it was time to take his studies seriously and that was why we couldn’t hang out as much.”

“You’re the one who knows him,” Jared said. “Hey, I’m sure he’s solid gold marriage material. Only, I remember what I got up to during my one spring break, and there weren’t many books involved.”

Mallory’s cheeks scorched visibly. “Well, you said yourself where that attitude got you.” She spun around in her seat.

“Don’t mean to speak out of turn. Just strikes me that a pretty girl like you doesn’t need to dangle on the end of some guy’s string. I’m sure you’re not short of attention.”

Mallory dismissed his flattery. “I can’t remember asking your opinion on … on a subject you know nothing about. I’d thank you to keep your remarks to yourself.”

Jared raised placating hands and said no more. Mallory reached over and turned up the stereo, so that it pumped out a raucous Nickelback tune. Vanessa allowed her the liberty. She sensed that her front-seat passenger’s anger was directed equally at her for taking the interloper on board. Jared shrugged at her with a nonchalant air in the rear-view. It was all she could do not to laugh.

God, you cocky bastard, I’d be all fucking over you if I had the chance.

For two months she’d scarcely seen outside her studio. Art and abstinence. Christ she’d have liked nothing better than to side-line Mallory and enjoy whatever hard length of cock the hitcher had on offer. But someone else’s need was greater than hers. What a tiresome thing was a conscience.

They stopped for gas, bottled water and candy at a roadside station and Mallory strolled off around the side of the store, no doubt to make a call on her cell. Vanessa filled the tank and picked up the snacks. Jared tossed her some dollars for the gas and an eight-pack of bottled beers.

“Glad you can pay your way,” she told him at the check-out, “since you’ll be booking into your own motel room tonight.”

“What, no space on your floor? Hey, I’m used to roughing it and I don’t snore.”

“Your nocturnal habits don’t concern me,” she said. “I just don’t want you ripping me off like Brad Pitt did to Thelma in the movie. It’s rent your own space, buddy, or the cold hard highway.” She handed her card to the check-out guy.

“Vanessa, I’m hurt,” he said, though he didn’t sound it. “I’ve no designs on your personal property.” He leaned close and dropped his voice. “It’s a whole other kind of ripping off I have in mind.”

“Is that so?” She stayed impassive, but loved his gall. The thought of him popping buttons and splitting seams as he exposed her full breasts was wildly appealing. Lifting the grocery sack she turned heel and made him pursue her out of the store. “God, do a guy a good turn and his dick nearly bursts out of his pants,” she said.

“I’m glad you noticed.”

“Two pretty girls pick up a guy and he just thinks he’s gonna bang them both.”

“You picked me up, Red, not Mallory.”

She paused outside the restrooms and poked a restraining hand to his chest. “Maybe, but it’s Mallory I want to talk about—”

He grabbed her wrist and propelled her unexpectedly through the door of the men’s restroom, his expression hardening.

“Jared, what the fuck!” She nearly dropped the grocery sack but he caught it and dumped it in a sink, before putting her up against the cold tiles. He pinned both her wrists and squeezed his thigh between hers. His face hovered just above hers, full of calm lust.

“Let’s cut to the chase while the college girl’s not around.” He let go one wrist to grab her ass and pull her tight to him. His cock was swollen to impressive size. She could feel it through their layers of denim, fully primed and ready to impale. Under his pulsing pressure she juiced up even more. Arrogant fuck.

“Goddamn, do you romance all your girls this way?”

“Romance is overrated. And it’s not what you’re looking for. Been a while, hasn’t it, Vanessa?”

She matched his stare and dug fingers into the taut strands of his hair. This was fun. “You read me that well, do you?”

“Cover to cover. I know exactly what the fuck you want.” He released her other wrist and grabbed to the roots of her thick hair, mouth and teeth clamping on her neck.

Oh my god …

“So you’re gonna screw me here in a public restroom, like the classy guy you are.” The prospect didn’t sound such a bad one.

He ran his tongue up to her ear. “Maybe I am. And maybe I’m just gonna let you think about my cock in your cunt while you drive. Unless you beg for it right now.”

“God, Jared, you’re a fucking piece of work.” She squirmed her hand between their crotches and grabbed at the top of his pants, commencing to pop the buttons of his jeans one by one. Looking down she saw that the bulbous phallic head had sprung free of his briefs. She plunged her hand all the way down—down his thick, sculpted shaft. Cock quivering, shaved balls bristling under her touch.

A thing of fucking beauty.

Jesus, she wanted this.

Wanted him.

She looked up and resisted the burning of his eyes into hers. There was a higher purpose to cling to. “Oh, yeah. You’d do,” she said. “If I’d decided for sure I needed to fuck, you’d do just fine.”

Even in his arousal he looked amused. “What the hell else you got planned for tonight?”

She withdrew her hand, spat on her palm and replaced it around his cock, massaging up and down, getting him slippery with saliva. He bridled under her touch. “I’ve got a challenge for you, stud. How much do you want to put this inside me?”

“Nearly as much as you want me to put it there,” he shot back. But there was fascination in his voice along with the arrogance. “Go on, challenge me.”

“You want to do me, you’ve got to do the college girl too.”

“The frat-boy’s fiancée? Tall order.”

“Wouldn’t you like to fuck her?”

“Sure, I’d like to bounce her off every fuckin’ wall in this restroom. If she was ready.”

“I didn’t say the challenge was easy.” She cupped his tight ball-sac, felt the weight of him in her palm. “But what sort of a fucking stud are you? Do what you have to. Charm and cajole and con your way inside her. That’s if you want me.” She squeezed slightly, enjoying the groan that issued from the back of his throat.

He loosened his grip on her hair, eyeing her with heightened intrigue. “What’s your deal here? You get off on setting up good little girls for seduction?”

“Maybe I’ve heard enough about her idiot fiancé. Or maybe I don’t want to see her make some damn fool mistake. Girl needs a taste of what she’s missing as long as she’s with that dick. Hence the need for this one.” She applied a further loving caress to the base of his shaft.

“Right, so this is out of friendship. You’re so good.”

“If she gets shafted out of her romantic stupor, I’ll be her best damn friend in the world.”

“Fuck her sensible, that the plan?”

“Sums it up.” She ran a slick path all the way from his sac to his domed crown. God, was she investing a lot of faith in this guy. She hoped for the sake of her spasming pussy he wouldn’t let her down. “So are you in?”

His smile was evil and delicious. “Sure, Red. If you want to risk the swell time we could have, just you and me, I’m in.”

“Good. Make it an even better time.” She tugged at the band of his briefs and snapped it against his cock, making him flinch. “Put that thing away before we get arrested. You’ve got work to do.”

Mallory awaited them by the Mustang in apparent gloom. She might have noticed Vanessa’s nipples swollen tight against the silk of her blouse, or the pronounced erection beneath Jared’s jeans, but she was too distracted. “Check it out,” said the denim-clad rover. “Somebody’s struggling with denial.”

He was observing the student anew, Vanessa could see, in her faded flairs and pink tee, quilted jacket wrapped around to fend off the chill of early-spring. Ash-brown hair was splashed around her shoulders, tresses curling gently towards the bottom. Her features were long and smooth, lightly tanned with eyes the blue side of hazel. Several years’ cheerleading had sculpted a svelte young woman with a jutting bosom. Mallory was the picture of prettiness. The only thing to mar it was that mournful frown.

“So, you get to talk to him?” Vanessa kept her tone upbeat.

“No. Voicemail.” Mallory forced a smile. “Like I said, he’s real busy. It’ll all be okay once I get there.” She diverted her eyes from Jared, who responded by opening the front passenger door for her.

“Hey, sweetheart, if I shoot my mouth off like I did earlier, just kick my ass, okay? None of my damn business.” The comment snapped her out of her funk and she looked happy again. Vanessa wondered if Chad could make a girl feel that attractive with a single remark. The spark of attraction Vanessa had witnessed earlier in Mallory had returned.

“It’s fine,” the college girl said. “Just let’s talk about something else. Anything else. Talk about your music.”

“Better still, play something,” Vanessa said, heading for the trunk. “Show us if you’re any damn good on the ol’ six-string.”

“Yeah, you’ve gotta. Entertain us!” Mallory jumped on her tiptoes in excitement.

“Well, if you’re gonna insist ... Looks like I get to serenade you ladies after all.” He did, lying across the back seat cradling his black Fender acoustic. He gave them Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “By The Way,” in something not far from the original song’s glory, plucking staccato on the strings through the opening, then thrashing out jagged bar chords when he got to the meat of the song. The lyrics he peppered with little asides: “Here we go, total frenzy … You with me, girls?” His stare challenged them to mock as he thrashed out a dramatic conclusion.

“The boy knows how to perform,” Vanessa said to Mallory, who beamed her response.

“You better believe it, Red.” Jared caught Vanessa’s amusement and they shared a conspiratorial moment. She had to hand it to the guy, he knew how to get with a plan.

“Come on,” Mallory cried in glee, “play another.” He hammered out a Green Day song and this time the student sang the whole thing. Then he cracked open two beers and she took one, swigging along with him.

He strummed and plucked as they drove through highway lights’ sodium glow, all three falling into silence. Vanessa watched Mallory’s head loll to the ebb and flow of his music, till the girl needed calling back from near-slumber. “Okay, guys, accommodation coming up. I say we break now and start early. Make Chicago by lunch tomorrow. All okay with that?”

“I’m in your hands, girls. What do you say, Mal? Hit a bar and knock back a few before bedtime?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Mallory said, her voice newly contented.

Vanessa steered off the Interstate. “Thank god for economy travel,” she said, heading into the Motel 6 parking lot.

Separate rooms were booked, just as she had instructed Jared. His room was across the lot from the twin she would share with Mallory. They planned to reconvene once everyone had freshened up.

“He knows how to lift the mood, doesn’t he?” Vanessa called to Mallory from the bathroom where she was splashing water on her face.

“Yeah, he’s fun, I think we should keep him,” Mallory said, giggling at her own joke. “Hey, he likes you. You two should hook up in Chicago.”

“Well, he’s just as taken with you, little sister. And you couldn’t help flirting in return.”

“Did not!” Mallory sounded pleased though. “Anyway, you’re the single one. He knows I’m on my way to meet up with Chad.”

“Oh, I don’t think he gives a damn. Our new buddy Jared would have you as a snack if you let him.”

“You think?”

“God yeah.” Vanessa strolled out from the bathroom shirtless. “He hasn’t said as much, but I can tell he thinks you’re hot. If you were single, he’d be hard-pressed to choose between us.”

“You look amazing,” Mallory said, staring at Vanessa’s firm breasts, supported as they were by a black sequined bra. “He’d be knocked out if he saw you like that. He wouldn’t look twice at me.”

So there was a sexy-minded girl here after all, Vanessa thought, picking a lime-green top from her suitcase. One who might yet be coaxed from her shell. “Wanna put that to the test? We could strip down and let him decide.”

Mallory laughed. “Vanessa, I’m engaged!” She said it as though affirming the fact to herself.

“Well, engaged or not, tonight you’re having a beer and enjoying yourself.” Vanessa knotted the shirt’s tales around her midriff. “Now sling your ass into that bathroom and get scrubbed.”

Mallory laughed and went to wash herself. She returned having replaced pink tee with white, the latter showing off slightly more cleavage. She had brushed out her hair and applied dark red lipstick.

So the student wasn’t beyond primping herself for another guy.

“Smokin’, girlfriend,” Vanessa said, and Mallory glowed at the words.

Jared seemed equally impressed when they met him outside. He looked Mallory over till she blushed. “I hope you ladies have the same appetite I do.”

“Time will tell,” Vanessa replied. She dared not look at him in case she smirked. “The Sizzlin’ Skillet okay? It’s licensed.”

“Sounds like my kind of place,” Jared replied. “What do you think, Mal?”

“Yeah, sounds good.” Mallory seemed pleased at the attention, but was not able to meet his eye.

The Sizzlin’ Skillet Bar and Grill was bustling when they arrived. Char-grilled meat and rock music pervaded the air. Jared dropped some coins in the jukebox. “Maroon 5 your style?” he inquired of Mallory.

“Love them,” she responded, and Vanessa watched the student relax into the evening’s good cheer.

Further beers were ordered, chicken and steak served on platters appropriately sizzling. Evening melted into night and the laughter at their table grew, alcohol doing its catalytic work. Vanessa monitored Mallory’s intake. Keep her buzzed but not too drunk, that was the way to go. She watched as the pretty innocent spooned ice cream into her mouth, regaling Jared with tame college stories. Incrementally she was succumbing to the hitcher’s appeal. He leaned forward, drawing out details with a playful gaze, eyes alive with collusion every time they flicked to Vanessa.

Check covered, they moved on to a bar called Al’s on Jared’s suggestion. Budweiser girls and other assorted Americana filled the walls.

Vanessa raised an eyebrow as they sat. “You trying to get us girls crazy drunk?”

“Hell, yeah. First round’s mine. What you drinking?”

Mallory laughed like it was the funniest thing she’d ever heard. She named the wildest cocktail on the menu, but Vanessa insisted she stick to beer.

When Jared was gone, the brunette pouted. “You’re acting just like Annie. I’m not your little sister. Aren’t we having fun?”

“Yes, but no one’s getting trashed.” If the evening went to plan, Vanessa wanted her to remember it. “We’ve both somewhere to be tomorrow.”

Mallory flushed as though conscience had come calling. “I’d … I’d better go check my messages.”

Damn. Chad-guilt. Not what was needed at this crucial stage. “You sure you want to do that now?” Vanessa asked, but Mallory ignored her and made straight for the restroom.

She returned minutes later, eyes puffy, and marched up to Jared at the bar. Then she flounced back to her seat with a defiant stare. “I told him I’m having that cocktail and I don’t want to hear a word about it.”

“Whatever you want, sweetheart.” Vanessa laid a reassuring hand on her arm. “Don’t let a guy get to you that way. You’re worth way more.”

She’d read the signs perfectly. Mallory’s show of strength crumbled. “We’re engaged, or as good as, and all he can do is leave me a dumb text! Check it out.” She passed over her phone.

HEY BABY, JUST CALL ME TOMOROW WHEN UR IN TOWN AND I CAN MEET YOU SOMEWERE x

“God, all that studying and he can’t even damn well spell. He’s all, ‘It’s gonna be different, we’ll communicate more’, and now this. I don’t get him.” There were further tears that Vanessa helped mop up with a napkin.

“Hey …” Jared was back with Vanessa’s beer, a cosmopolitan for Mallory and his own Jack Daniels. “Who rained on this parade?”

“It’s nothing,” Vanessa told him. “Just one more guy being a jerkoff.” She squeezed Mallory’s shoulder.

“We’re guys, we’re jerkoffs by nature,” he said, sliding her cocktail across to her. “Look, if this is about what I said earlier, forget it. What do I know? Just because your guy’s a sports god, it doesn’t mean he’s boning every girl on campus. And even if he is, he probably still loves you. You know, in his own way.” Mallory stared at him before bursting back into tears. Jared responded with a what-did-I say shrug.

Vanessa almost snorted her laughter. She could have blown Jared there in the restaurant, but instead she scolded. “Why say a damn-fool thing like that? No one’s boning anyone, okay? He’s just broken a promise to stay in touch better.”

“Yeah? A guy should keep his promises.”

Mallory dried her eyes once more and gave him a searching look. “You’ve never broken a promise to a girl?”

“Sweetie,” Vanessa said, “Jared’s never made a promise to a girl. Am I right?”

“Damn straight.” His grin was shameless.

Despite all the tears Mallory burst into laughter. “You’re so bad.”

Jared sipped his whiskey and shot Mallory a wicked look. “Better believe it, baby.” She blushed, but this time she didn’t shy away from his gaze.

Giddiness returned. They all laughed, swapped stories, spun their own futures: Jared in a down and dirty rock band, Mallory jet-setting around Europe with a tourism job, Vanessa’s work displayed in the Museum of Modern Art.

“I sketch a little too, y’ know,” Jared said. She sensed from his tone he would take this somewhere interesting.

“Another of your many natural talents no doubt. What do you sketch?”

“Oh, this and that. Places I’ve been to, people I’ve met. I’ve taken to creating mementos of key intimacies in my life.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“Well a guy’s gotta have a hobby. And it’s less intrusive than taking photos. I try to capture the essence of certain exquisite encounters.”

Mallory was clearly intrigued, Jared’s words drawing her in physically. Her cleavage was compressed by her folded arms on the table, although she appeared unaware of the delicious sight she had created. “What kind of encounters? I want to know.”

Vanessa was sure the girl knew just fine. “I think Jared here is telling us he sketches dirty pictures of himself and the women he’s been with. I’m not sure whether that’s creative and sexy or just plain juvenile.”

“Or all of the above.” He shrugged.

“You do that? For real?” Mallory asked.

“Yup, got a few I’ve been working on in my pack.”

“God, Mal, you wanna see?” Vanessa invested the inquiry with girlish delight.

“Wow, yeah, I do.” The ash-brown beauty seemed instantly abashed at her own enthusiasm.

Jared built on the advantage. “Well …” He stretched back in his chair, passing a steady gaze back and forth between the girls. “I’m not sure I’m ready to go baring heart and soul unless you two share something in return. If you come back to my room to see my scribbling, I wanna hear some of your shady secrets. Quid pro quo, isn’t that the phrase?”

“What do you think, Mal?” Vanessa passed the ball once more. “Dare we set foot in this guy’s room, when he wants all our dark secrets?”

“God, I don’t think I have any,” Mallory said, scrolling through her past in her mind. “But I’m sure we could, you know, visit.”

“Drink up then.” Jared threw back the last of his JD.

They left the bar shortly after and headed for his room. Mallory was instantly afflicted by cold feet. “You know I kinda feel I shouldn’t be doing this,” she whispered to Vanessa as they approached Jared’s door.

“Why? We’re just hanging out, having a little fun. You are having fun, aren’t you?”

“Yes. More than I’ve had in ages.”

“Then enjoy it. Chad’s being an ass and you know it. So cut loose a little. It’s okay, I’m here.” She winked and Mallory beamed, infected by a sense of danger. Within moments Vanessa had the girl seated beside her on Jared’s bed.

The room was low-lit and furnished modestly. The hitch-hiker sat down with the girls and wasted no time in fetching papers from his guitar case along with a lump of resin. “My place, my rules,” he said. Vanessa admired his singleness of purpose.

“He’s such a reprobate, isn’t he?” She squeezed Mallory’s knee.

“I know!” The college girl laughed with a touch of nervous shock.

Jared finished preparing the roll-up and lit it with a Zippo retrieved from his pocket. He took a drag and passed it to Vanessa who inhaled as well, letting the smoke curl into her lungs. The sweet odor filled the room’s limited space. She returned the joint, casting a brief glance at Mallory. “Guess that makes me a bad girl too.”

Jared toked again and blew a column of smoke to the ceiling as the college girl looked on.

“Way to unwind after a day on the road,” he said, before passing again to Vanessa. She matched his cool appreciation of the roll-up. It wasn’t long till Mallory caved.

“So don’t I get any?”

Vanessa laid on the sisterly air. “You sure that’s a good idea, sweetie?”

“Hell, I’ve smoked a joint before.” This girl wasn’t going to be patronized. “There was a party at Chad’s place when his parents were away. One of his football buddies passed one around. He freaked out because he thought he’d lose his place in the team, but I tried it anyway. It drove him nuts, but I just lay there and couldn’t stop laughing the madder he got. Now hand it over!”

“Anything you say, daughter of Cheech,” Jared responded. Whether or not Mallory got the reference, she laughed, then sucked on the joint. The first time she choked and spluttered, Jared’s hand on her back all through her recovery. She persisted and inhaled deep, holding her breath. Vanessa visualized the smoke streaming down inside her, percolating its way into her system and muddling her brain. Mallory released a thick cloud and breathed slowly in and out.

“There you are.” She smirked at them both and took another draw. The expression on her face said it all: her whole body was tingling on pain-free fire, a hazy sensation embalming her. “Mmm, feels so good.”

That’s right, honey. Good to unwind. Good to do something that’d rile your lousy son-of-a-bitch boyfriend.

“Got one,” Mallory announced apropos of nothing. Jared looked at her enquiringly along with Vanessa. “A secret. Don’t know if it’s very dark, but it’s kinda fun.” She bit her lip and threw Jared a coy glance.

“Okay, lay it on me,” he encouraged.

“Well, I went over to my friend Stacey’s house last summer, so we could suntan. We had the rug on the lawn and there was music playing and a big jug of lemonade. And it was the hottest day of summer, kinda thing. We had on the tiniest little bikinis, ‘cos we knew her folks were out for the day.” On this she giggled, buoyed up in her boldness by the marijuana. “We’d just taken off our t-shirts and we noticed that Mr. Baldwin, Stacey’s neighbour, he’s this married guy, was out doing some gardening and had a clear view of us. She said he was trying not to look or pretend not to look and I said it was kinda like a scene from Desperate Housewives, with the husband trying not to get all hot-under-the-collar from the smokin’ hot girls next door. So we decided to, y’know, make it like a scene.”

“You bad little vixens.” Vanessa toked on the joint and watched Mallory loosen.

“Well, like we weren’t that bad,” the storyteller explained. “We just rubbed the lotion all over very slowly and then lay down one at a time and undid the straps on our tops and then did each other’s back. Like really thorough and sensual. Adjusted our bikini bottoms a little bit. Oh god— ” She had a fit of laughter and put a hand to her mouth to stifle her giggles. “And then we sat up and compared tan-lines, kinda both letting our tops slip just a little too much.”

“Give the poor neighbour the old nipple reveal?” Vanessa inquired wickedly.

“Yeah, we did.” Mallory was clearly enjoying herself, but diverted her eyes from Jared’s just the same. “I suppose we were pretty bad. But, like, we didn’t do anything that would have got us arrested.”

“I’m guessing,” Jared said, “that Mr. Baldwin wouldn’t have called the cops if you two had sixty-nined under the sprinkler.”

He’d snared her with that mischief of his. She leaned forward, cross-legged on the bed, mouth dropped fully open. “Shame on you. You’re so bad!”

Jared’s stare was level. “As bad as you want me to be, Mal.”

Vanessa’s gaze flicked back and forth between hunter and prey. She could see Mallory weighing up her response in the face of Jared’s boldness.

Go on. Take his bait. You know you want to.

“So was my story too tame for such a bad guy?” Mallory ventured. “Do we get to see your dirty drawings now?”

“I liked your story very much,” Jared said. “But I want to hear something from the fiery redhead.”

Vanessa was impressed. The self-pitying college girl was transforming before both of their eyes, but Jared knew he couldn’t bury his cock just yet. Mallory wasn’t ready to be confronted with its lusty dimensions. He was right to enlist help.

“Okay.” Vanessa took a long drag and enveloped herself in a cloud of pot-smoke. After months of self-denial she needed the release of getting naked with a hot stranger, of riding a big, hard, thrusting dick. She had to play this well.

“I have a friend, name of Cherry,” she said. “Well that’s her performance name. She studied with me and worked part-time at a strip club. Then she wanted time out from stripping, so she took to running exotic dance classes. Gave me a special rate, so I took her up on the offer.”

“Wow, what sort of stuff did you learn? Were you good?” Mallory demanded.

“We learned it all. Pole-dancing, lap-dancing, striptease … And yes, Cherry seemed to think I was one of her better students.”

Jared leaned back against the bed’s headboard. “So have any gentleman friends reaped the benefit of this new-found skill?”

Vanessa dragged on the joint again and passed it to Mallory. “One or two select individuals. And only if I’ve decided they’re going to get very lucky.”

“Well, I’ve got the drawings right here.” Jared patted the rucksack where it leaned beside the bed. “But if I share them, you’re gonna share your moves with me.”

Vanessa looked to Mallory as though appalled. “You see that, Mal? We both played nice, now he’s shifting the bases. This boy’s badder than bad.”

“I know it!” Mallory sounded as much entertained as shocked.

Jared was unmoved. “Like I said, my room, my rules. You want to see my art, I want a dance from you, Red … and I want a kiss from Miss College.”

Mallory choked on the joint and Vanessa had to retrieve it. Jared’s look was expectant. Vanessa could see the girl’s nipples hardening under her tee. The pause extended, Mallory looking to her older, wiser friend.

“What do you think, Mal?” Vanessa asked. “You want to see me dance for him? I’m sure if he thinks I’m hot enough we can bargain on that kiss.”

Mallory’s gaze wandered over Vanessa in curiosity. “Reckon she’s got a girl-crush on you,” older sister Annie had let slip one drunken evening. “It’s all ‘Vanessa’s flaming hair’ and ‘her milky skin’ and ‘the way she’s dusted with freckles’.” Never had the crush been more apparent.

“Yeah,” the twenty-year-old said. “I wanna see you dance.” Mallory looked back to Jared.

“But I’m not promising you anything. I don’t even know if your drawings are any good.”

He laughed, the skin crinkling at the corners of his blue eyes, and Mallory giggled in return. He reached into his pack and whisked out an A4 art pad with flourish. Vanessa shuffled closer on the bed along with Mallory to examine his work. “Couple of things I’ve been sketching on the road,” he explained. “Just letting those memories spill onto the page. God, I feel under scrutiny with a real artist here.”

“I’m more interested in content than style,” Vanessa said, then he flipped open the pad and she found herself favorably moved by both. Beside her Mallory took a sharp intake of breath and gave a shocked laugh.

The artwork was that of a talented amateur. It was cartoonish, a comic sensibility tempering its pornographic nature. The first drawing depicted a sinewy boy in late teens with shoulder-length hair; he was naked on his knees, hands tied behind his back. The youth’s face was straining, sweating with frustration, the source a comely dark-haired young woman in a cut-off tee and tiny shorts, who teased his erect cock with a feather. The contrast was striking between the woman’s casual attentions and the advanced sexual need of her victim. As for the cock, that was spectacular—a pillar of young male lust, bulged to its fullest potential. It quivered almost visibly on the page, oozing pre-cum right down to the bloated balls.

“Okay, so the boy can draw,” Vanessa said. She could see Mallory’s fixed stare. “Not what I’d call subtly erotic though. Real life or fetid schoolboy imagination?”

“She’d been my regular babysitter,” Jared explained. “Then when I got older she became a kind of unpaid tutor. That’s me in class. She was a patient teacher, brought a lot out of me. It was one formative summer. Natalie said she’d had enough lousy fucks from college jocks who didn’t know one end of their dick from the other, but said she had hope for me. That I showed potential. Here’s another of her lessons …”

He folded back the page and revealed another arresting image. In this one the lean young man was standing, hands free. One was gripped tight around the same lavishly proportioned cock. Two girls knelt before him. The tutoress who had tormented him with the feather was skimpily attired once more and holding open the mouth of the big-titted naked blonde beside her. Said blonde was thus forced to receive the sperm surging from the boy’s cock. The drawing caught the moment of impact, a spume of white drops exploding from the perplexed girl’s tongue over both women. The teacher looked delighted at her lesson’s outcome.

“Natalie believed in rewards and punishments,” Jared said. “This lesson was an end-of-course treat. Her other student was a girl from my high school I’d been keen on. Turned out a happy occasion all around, although Cecilia here was a bit taken aback by this development. I was pretty surprised too. Great days. They made me—”

“The man you are today,” Vanessa finished, with a wry twist to her lips. “Of course this type of art does lend itself to exaggeration.” Like she was in any doubt following the restroom escapade. The denim of Jared’s crotch was almost creaking under pressure once more. The question she voiced, therefore, was for Mallory’s benefit. “So is everything to scale?”

“Any degree of enhancement is very minor,” Jared assured. “I don’t need to brag to capture the essence of these experiences. And there was a lot of essence. What do you think of my drawings, Mallory?”

The college girl’s mouth hung open like a goldfish. Her eyes flicked back and forth between Jared and the sketch pad, trying to connect the boy in the drawings with the man on the bed. “They’re … They’re very well-drawn,” she said, staring at him in awe.

“Well enough to earn that prize?” Before she could respond, he leaned over and claimed her open mouth with his own. A moment’s surprise gave way to acceptance. Vanessa watched Mallory melt into the kiss, her mouth undulating with Jared’s.

Whiskey and smoke, suck it up, girl. Long, deep and wet. When did you get kissed like that before? He’s bad, Mal, he’s everything you fucking need. Give yourself to it. Forget anyone called Chad.

Mallory’s boyfriend was not so easily erased from her mind, it seemed. Her toes might have been curling under Jared’s kiss, but once released she looked confused and guilty. On a reflex she grabbed inside her jeans pocket for her cell. “I’d better … better go. I need to make a call.”

Her new paramour was having none of it. His finger on her lips silenced her. “Relax,” he said. “Make your call later. You don’t have to do anything. Just watch. Nothing wrong in watching, is there?” Mallory slowly shook her head. The sheer Zen of the man seemed to wrap her up in calm. She did watch, avidly, as he moved to Vanessa. “Okay, Red. Show me those moves.”

Not quite the plan. Fuck her, then me, as I recall.

It mattered not at all to Vanessa. This guy knew what he was doing and she loved it. “I’ll show you moves that’ll blow your mind.”

Stubbing out the joint in a plastic cup, she gripped the front of his shirt and moved off of the bed, drawing him after. She sat Jared down on the room’s one straight-backed chair, then went searching for music on the bedside radio until she stopped on a slinky R&B tune.

She strolled back to Jared, adding a sway to her stride, basking in Mallory’s voyeuristic attentions. Her red tresses she drew upwards, letting them tumble.

“Bring it on, Vanessa girl,” Jared said with lazy enjoyment. “Mallory, watch and learn.”

Good call, you sexy fuck. Let’s give this girl a show.

TO BE CONTINUED