If Only (Captured) Read online

  I lean against the bar beside him. “Yeah, I was out on the balcony talking to Joe. I haven’t been in here much.”

  “Are you here as his date or somethin’?” Though he’s asking me that, Dane’s expression doesn’t convey that he thinks that.

  I giggle, though, I don’t know why. “No, I have a boyfriend already. Joe did my tattoos and stuff, we only met recently, actually.”

  “Right.” He glances over at Su and then back at me. “Your friend hasn’t moved from that spot since she got here.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me, we do love to dance, Su even more than me.” I watch her for a moment, she and Saffron are center stage. “Your sister is absolutely gorgeous,” I tell the hot man I’m speaking with. Good looks clearly run in their family.

  He smiles fondly. “Yes, she is. Thank you.” I see pride in his eyes as he focuses on her for a moment. It’s heartwarming.

  We talk about his job, and my college plans, and as I’m about to ask a question, Su pulls me by my elbow and leads me in among the swaying bodies. Looking back over my shoulder, I mouth a “Sorry.” Dane nods with his lips curved softly, he seems amused and not offended.

  I always love dancing at parties, usually Su wouldn’t have to literally drag me to the floor, but what I mainly desire is more of an opportunity to talk to people.

  Mostly to Joe.

  Chatting to Dane was great and I want to get to know Saffron better. I really liked my conversation with Joe. It’s just so easy, natural, especially if I don’t look at him. His face and his physique, in that fitted, thin burgundy sweater, are a bit of a distraction, somewhat overwhelming. Maybe I’ll get the chance before I go.

  Su and Saffron welcome me into their little bubble. The music flows with a mix of Rock and Hip hop, current and old, most of which I’m familiar with.

  After some time, I go to the bathroom to check my makeup and use the toilet.

  When I lock the door and before I hit the light switch, I notice there’s a second entrance over in the far corner. I have no clue where it leads to, but it’s slightly ajar and amber illumination peeps through the fist-wide crack. The current choice of song from the party plays muffled in here. It’s low enough for me to pick up on something in that adjoining room. What I can hear is male and female moans. Yes, someone is fucking in there, and I am absolutely curious enough to take a peek.

  I tiptoe over, so my heels don’t clink on the ceramic tiled floor. As I get closer, I can confirm that those sounds are definitely sex related. Peering through the opening, I see a whole lot more than I bargained for.

  It’s a bedroom – which, of course, I already suspected – but what I didn’t expect to see is Gerard and Dane and one chick. I saw her earlier, when I first got here. She’s attractive with straight black hair, probably in her twenties, and she clearly has no problem with taking two men at the same time. She’s just as into it as they are. I’ve never seen this in real life before, and even though I don’t intend on doing it myself, it’s freaking hot.

  I can’t believe two hours ago I was talking to Dane by the bar, and now he’s fucking some woman’s face. Holy shit! He’s kneeling on the bed, she’s on all fours, and Gerard is taking her from behind – putting in quite a performance, I might add. The lady is still in her black spaghetti dress, but it’s pulled up and gathered around her waist. Both guys are still dressed, each with their fly open. I can’t see Gerard’s cock from here, but I can see Dane’s. Goddamn, it’s huge and she can take it all. Give the girl a medal for that deep-throat action. This is awesome, I can’t stop watching, but I want to tell Su. She’d love to see it.

  I had no idea these guys would do this, though, I’m aware anything can go down – pardon the pun – at a party. I wonder if they do this often.

  I wonder if Joe does this, too.

  Before I get caught in my act of voyeurism, I turn to leave. Even though I’d like to see it to the end, oh, man, I so want to watch the rest, I won’t push my luck. One glance my way, and I’d never be able to look those guys in the face again. Or Joe.

  When I come out, I scan the room. Less people are here now and the music is at background level. Joe’s talking to a guy and his girl in a corner, and Adam is smoking on the balcony with someone. Su and Saffron are sitting down on one of the black leather sofas, which have been pushed back to create the dancing space. A glance at my watch tells me its four-thirty-five a.m.

  I head over and join the girls, but I won’t tell Su what I saw, just yet. Saffron may or may not know what her brother is doing, right this moment. Though I get into their chat, I’ve still got the images in my head of Gerard and Dane fucking that chick. I can’t wait to tell Su.

  “So how long have you been with Adam?” I ask Saffron, distracting myself from the sexy replay I’m having.

  “Five years.”

  “You’ve all been friends longer, right?”

  “Yeah, Joe, Gerard, and I are all the same age, and Adam and Dane are a year older. Gerard’s dad was friends with Adam and Joe’s dad since before they even had kids, so those guys have known each other pretty much their whole lives. Dane and I moved to Hillsborough when I was eight, and the group formed from there.

  “When I was fifteen I got a crush on Adam, but I didn’t say anything because of Dane being his friend. Then when I was eighteen, and still crushing on him, my girlfriend decided I was old enough and it was none of my brother’s business who I got with. She told Joe, Joe told Adam. It turned out Adam noticed me as more than his buddy’s little sister when I was sixteen. We both stayed quiet because of Dane. It was great us all growing up together, we’re more like family.”

  “That’s so romantic; you and Adam liking each other on the DL. You make a great couple, and he’s cool. He was so nice when Joe and I almost collided. I really like your brother and Joe, too, but I don’t know when to take Gerard seriously.”

  “The guy is hardly ever serious, so go with that theory and you’ll be fine. He’s always been that way, but you do get used to him. How long have you been with Nick?” Gerard seemed pretty damn serious when I last saw him, the horny bastard.

  “We’ve only been together seven months, but I’m positive about him. He’s amazing. We met through Su’s boyfriend, they both do motocross.”

  Her eyebrows kick up. “Motocross?”

  “You like it?”I ask, in response to her obvious fascination.

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “You should come with us tomorrow, they’re practicing at Metcalf. I can come pick you up.”

  “Cool, I’d like that. Lemme give you my cell phone number and I’ll take both of yours.”

  We make the switch and talk some more.

  Glimpsing over at the front door, I see the two who Joe was talking to are leaving, so he’s obviously not going to be carrying out the same ‘activities’ as his friends. Something about that is pleasing to me, even if it does have nothing to do with me.

  Even more pleasing than that, he’s heading toward us right now.

  ****

  It’s a fine September Saturday. I’m in my bug, driving with the top down, and Nick is at my side. We’re at Tenth and Mission Street intersection. He suddenly reaches forward and turns down the volume on the radio. “Listen to that, C,” he says, excitement dancing in his gray eyes.

  The overwhelming rumble of multiple motorcycle engines draws nearer, the purring beasts commanding my attention. Looking back, I see six bikes approaching the stoplights. A red and black Yamaha breaks beside me, the rider is staring at me. With his dark helmet on, I can’t see who it is. I’m trying not to feel intimidated. Often I find an unknown rider sexy and mysterious. Often they don’t stare at me like this.

  “Hey, Callie, hey, Nick,” Saffron calls. I search the direction of her voice and see her sitting on a black and yellow Suzuki, behind Adam.

  The person beside me raises his tinted visor and coffee bean brown eyes look into mine. A shimmer of heat passes over my flesh in a sensual caress, the se
nsation penetrating me to the very core of my being. Weirdest feeling I’ve ever experienced in my life.

  “Hey, guys,” I say, intentionally keeping my tone level. My heart is racing with nerves and excitement and … I don’t know what, something else.

  Nick leans forward and waves over at Saffron. She’s been to the dirt tracks with me twice, since the party last weekend, so they’re familiar with each other now. I notice Dane is here, too, he’s on a sleek black Yamaha. Gerard is seated on the rear.

  “This is Joe, the guy who did my tattoos,” I say, focusing on Nick, with my hand gesturing in my nipple piercer’s direction.

  “Hey, man, awesome work. Is that a custom exhaust system?” Nick asks, peering over the top of my car door to get a good look at Joe’s motorcycle.

  “Yeah,” he answers, his pitch rising with surprise. “What do you ride?”

  “I’m more into dirt bikes, I’ve got a KTM250, but anything with two wheels and a motor works for me.”

  “Where you guys headed now?” Joe asks. “We’re going to a dealer expo at the Moscone center. We can hook you up if you wanna come check it out?” People start honking their horns behind us – the lights have changed. “Follow us if you want,” Joe calls out, as he accelerates.

  Shifting into first, I move before we piss off the other motorists any further. I follow the rumble.

  “We don’t have to go if you don’t want, C.”

  I’d go even if I did mind; I felt Nick’s excitement at the mere mention of the expo. No way would I spoil his fun. “Nah, it’s cool, Saffron will be there, too.”

  “You sure?” He squeezes my thigh.

  “Yeah, I’d like to see it.”

  It turns out my hot nipple piercing tattooist and my boyfriend share common ground. And now we’re all about to hang out together for the afternoon.

  What was that my sister said about dopey-eyed look?

  Thirteen: Joe

  Games night at our condo, it’s all about cards, Madden, Budweiser and buddies. Saffron invited Callie and Su, which I discretely encouraged, not that it was necessary since they’ve gotten close in the short time they’ve know each other.

  I know Callie better now, and whatever this thing is it’s not simmering.

  The fact remains, she’s got a man, who Saff also invited tonight, but he couldn’t come because of work. To add to it, the guy’s cool. I would easily hang with the dude – if I didn’t want his girl. All the choices I have and I have to want someone who’s already taken and then top it off by liking the guy she’s with.

  It’s not even slightly complicated, is it?

  As tempting as it is, I’m not about to tell Callie I want her. While she’s with Nick, she doesn’t need to know. My feelings for her will remain on the down low, and I’ll just keep doing my thing.

  Gerard and Dane arrive first, with a shitload of beer. The moment he’s through the door, Gerard heads straight for the console and starts up a racing game. Callie and Su arrive next and, almost instantly, Callie notices Gerard selecting his ride and rushes over to him.

  “Dude, I have to kick your ass on that.”

  “Come on, little girl, show me what you got,” he says, grinning eagerly.

  I sit on the couch, to the side of them, watching. This is entertaining in more ways than one. They’re standing side by side, occasionally nudging each other, trying to influence the cars on the screen. It’s funny, especially with the way he towers over her, but she’s giving as good as she gets. Even more to my liking, I get to enjoy observing the way Callie’s jeans fit like a second skin. Light blue, stretchy denim wraps around her sexy thighs and hugs her juicy butt – quite full for her small frame, but more than perfect. I want to sink my teeth into it. I’d spend hours on that one location of her body, before even considering venturing anywhere else.

  Remembering the secrets beneath her tight white shirt brings a smile to my face. My memory of her satin-smooth looking breasts and suckable nipples is as clear as if it was only today I pierced them, not five weeks ago. What I’d give to know what the rest of her is like beneath that hot outfit and explore her with my hands and mouth.

  When she arrived and we hugged, I was so focused on the feel of her, slight, soft and feminine, I didn’t register her scent. I wonder what fruit she smells of tonight. I’ll make sure I know the answer the first chance I get. Maybe I’ll race her, stand beside her and get close enough to smell her; peach, strawberry, some other type of berry, maybe?

  Getting up to participate isn’t necessary, because Su and Dane are demanding their turn. Callie and Gerard have dominated the console for the past hour, each winning and losing in turn. She’s an awesome little gamer.

  Now, Callie sits in her friends spot – right beside me. I refrain from grinning like The Joker.

  She sits with her legs crossed, feet tucked under her thighs. It’s more than strange that I find her sexy sitting in this childlike manner. Maybe it’s her degree of comfort around people; she doesn’t care about looking or acting a certain way. Maybe she doesn’t need to do much at all to have an effect on me. I feel like some kind of fucking predator. I’ve never observed someone so much, but it’s impossible not to, everything she says or does stands out to me.

  “Are you gonna play?” she asks, smiling beautifully.

  “Most likely.” Coconut! Not what I expected, but nice, exotic. “You like games like this?”

  “Yeah, I do. Su and I love going to arcades and stuff.” Perfect.

  “We should all go sometime,” I lightly suggest.

  “We were saying on our way here that we should go soon, it’s been a while.” Fucking perfect.

  After a couple of hours, we’ve all played, including Callie and me. She won. Now, Su wants to play cards, so we’ve pulled the coffee table back into the center of the couches and gathered around it, sitting on the floor and on the furniture.

  “Can I shuffle, pleeeeeaze?” Su asks, with her hand held up in the air like a kid in class. Adam passes her the deck and she proceeds to shuffle, dropping one or five cards as she does it. It’s quite bad. It’s really fucking bad.

  Dane is suppressing his laugh and Gerard is shaking his head, with an inquisitive expression, as though he can’t quite believe his eyes. Adam and Saffron just exchanged a look, wondering why the hell Su wanted to do it when she can’t. At least, that’s what I imagine they’re thinking. That would be my thoughts if I hadn’t caught the way she and her friend glanced at each other. I suspect this is their way of making us think they’ll be shit, when they’re actually good.

  Fourteen: Callie

  It’s obvious Saffron and her friends play a lot, they’re all good. Joe and Gerard are the best players, and I got lucky against Gerard and stayed in the last run of Blackjack. It came down to Joe and me. I won. I’m sure he let me win; he’s way better than me. My victory doesn’t feel justified and I don’t think I beat him on our racing game, even if I did only just do it. I don’t understand why he let me, maybe because I’m a girl and he’s being polite.

  “Su, we better get going,” I say, looking at my watch. Time has gone by too fast – it’s almost four a.m. now.

  “Nah, staaay,” Gerard says, waving one hand forward, dismissing my suggestion. “The party’s only just getting started.”

  I laugh at him, he’s clearly drunk. There’s no party, but in his head there is. Leaving isn’t what I want, but his proposition doesn’t seem enough. “No, I think we should probably go now.” I shift into a more upright seated position. My butt feels numb from this floor, even with couch cushions under me. I’ve been sitting here for hours.

  “You should hang a bit longer,” Dane adds. “No one else is leaving yet.”

  Okay, so it’s not Dane or Gerard who I want to ask us to stay. What I want is for Joe to ask us to. I’ve had one of the most fun nights ever. These guys are all great, but what I’ve enjoyed the most is being in Joe’s company.

  This is not good.

  “I’m goi
ng to powder my nose,” I say, standing up with my anesthetized-ass.

  In the bathroom, I take the opportunity to look around. For obvious reasons, I didn’t pay much attention to it the last time I was in here. I’m intrigued to know whether this bathroom in anyway resembles Joe’s. I’m curious about the kind of body wash he uses, his shaving foam and his cologne. He always smells great, though he didn’t wear a fragrance at all when he did my tattoos. Like at the party, tonight his scent has a sweet and earthy undertone. He’s always clean shaven, too.

  Nothing in here tells me anything about the guy personally. I want to know more about him and how much of this condo is based on his personal taste. What is his bedroom like? I’m getting nothing in here and I’m way too interested in discovering more. It’s time to leave.

  I walk back out to find the man at the center of my thoughts in the kitchen with my friend. “What are you two doing?” I ask, not that it isn’t obvious.

  “We’re hungry,” Su replies, cheerfully shrugging her shoulders.

  “Are you hungry?” Joe asks me.

  “Um, no, I don’t think so.” He smiles and continues about his business. That smile sent a wave of heat up my spine and tingling sensations somewhere I refuse to acknowledge.

  Standing at the breakfast bar, I watch Su and Joe make scrambled eggs, pancakes and bacon. Not a good idea. I get kind of caught up with the perfect fit of Joe’s T-shirt; dark green cotton clinging to smooth curves of tightly developed muscle. And now it gets worse, I find myself observing the way his loose-fitting jeans hang low around his hips, with a thick black leather belt holding the warn denim in place. Oh, shit, I’m getting way too hot. I’m like a human freakin’ furnace, and I didn’t even get below his belt. I need to get the hell away from here – from him.

  The others are playing another game of cards, but I don’t want to, so I go out to the balcony. It’s chilly out here, and the heaters aren’t on, so I pick up the funky crochet blanket, which is folded over the back of the love seat. It’s thick, soft, designed in all the colors of the rainbow, and it smells the same as the hand towel in the bathroom. It feels cold, from being left out here, but it’ll warm up with my body heat soon enough.