The Good Life - Chapter Three: Not Exclusive

Chapter Three: Not Exclusive

Bridget nudged Brooke and gave a boastful smile to two of their drunken classmates. They stood across the table from her and Brooke, two red cups sitting in front of them compared to the five that she and Brooke had.

“Come on, Walker,” one of the guys across from them complained, impatience showing in his fidgeting hands.

Bridget glanced at Brooke who had her eyes narrowed and was rolling a Ping-Pong ball between her thumb and pointer finger. Classic Brooke to drag out her every move in beer pong, going up against her was like a suicide mission.

“Keep your pants on, Owen,” Brooke told him, throwing the ball up into the air and then catching it.

Owen raised his eyebrows, a smirk on his face. “I can’t keep any promises with the length of that dress.”

Brooke scoffed and turned to Bridget. “Blow for luck?” she asked.

Bridget grinned and exhaled onto the ball that Brooke had held up to her lips. She moved to the side, giving Brooke room to throw as her phone buzzed three times, indicating it was a phone call. The light on her Blackberry flashed blue, the color she had chosen for Clark.

She walked further away from the table, bringing the phone up to her ear. “Hello?” she questioned. A string of unintelligible words filled her ears, followed by static. She furrowed her brow and pressed the phone closer to her ear, trying to block out the loud, dance-worthy music that had been on a loop since the start of the party. The voice on the other end said something but she only caught parts of it.

“Hold on, I can’t hear you,” she groaned, pulling her phone away from her ear and turning to Brooke. She took Brooke’s phone out of her pocket and handed it to her. “I’ll be right back, make Lexi take my turn,” she told her.

Brooke took her phone from Bridget and laid it in a puddle on the table, too interested in the game to care about where it was placed. “Where are you going?” she questioned, holding her Ping-Pong ball up mid throw.

“Upstairs,” Bridget replied. She brushed past the throng of people surrounding the stairs and through the ones crowding the halls and then finally made her way up to the third floor, the only semi quiet place in the house. She ducked into June’s bedroom, considering she was away on business and guessing no one else would be in there.

April had technically deemed the room, along with hers and May’s, off limits to all party-goers – including Bridget and Brooke. But April was otherwise occupied and extremely drunk so Bridget’s whereabouts in her mom’s room wouldn’t matter.

Immediately she was greeted with silence, save for the thumping bass that she could still feel against the floor. She checked the room to make sure no one else had disobeyed April and once satisfied shut the door behind her.

She heard laughter on the other end and bit her lip, feeling momentarily embarrassed but then just annoyed. “Clark?” she questioned as she leaned against June’s tall bed. The bed was actually too high for her, due to the fact that she was only 5 feet tall, and the wooden base pressed awkwardly against her back. She pulled away from it and then walked over to perch on the lavender chair that sat by June’s window.

More distant laughter rang through on the other end then Clark’s voice said, “Yeah?”

Bridget tucked her legs under her, waiting a beat before answering him. She was bitter with herself for feeling even slightly embarrassed about calling Clark. She’d been seeing – well sleeping with – him since early July. There was no need to feel awkward for calling him.

She ran her fingers over a worn piece of the purple plush and said, “Where did you go? I’ve been calling you for like the last half hour.” Bridget listened intently as the noise on the other end faded as if Clark was walking away from a crowd of people and into a more secluded area. She pictured him in a bedroom, leaning against a bed like she had just been doing.

“I’m at Colin’s, he has a couple of the guys over,” Clark said.

“Well, are you coming back?” Bridget questioned him.

Loud noise filled the other end of the phone then a giggle sounded followed by a laugh from Clark. “I wasn’t planning on it, no.”

Bridget scoffed. Parties meant sex. Parties always meant sex, something Clark had made clear and he had gone and ditched her for an “all guys” party that clearly from the girly laugh wasn’t actually “all guys”. “Okay,” she said, trying to sound casual about it. “Does this mean you don’t care if I get drunk and fuck someone else?”

Silence. Then Clark snorted. “It’s not a big deal, it’s not like we’re exclusive or anything.”

Bridget tensed, feeling a rush of anger towards Clark. She wanted to call him a dick and get mad at him for not giving a fuck who she slept with, even though they had both agreed that they weren’t going to limit themselves, but June’s bedroom door opened and she swallowed her words. She glanced up and saw a messy haired guy dressed in rumpled jeans and a creased shirt enter the room. Her heart fluttered, recognizing the guy just from the back of his head: Justin, she thought.

She smacked her hand against the wall, trying to get Justin’s attention as she heard music on the other end of the phone. Justin jerked and glanced over his shoulder. His eyebrows were raised in curiosity but when he noticed Bridget sitting on the paint splattered chair his face broke into a grin.

Clark’s voice sounded in Bridget’s ear, along with loud noises as if he had just rejoined the party but she pulled the phone away from her ear, concentrating on Justin as he walked towards her. She held her breath as he came up to her, placing a hand on each of the chair’s armrests and leaning in close to her face. His breath smelled like some unidentifiable liquor which was so strong she could taste it. He smelled like something else too, something that could only be described as Justin Vanderlinde. His tousled hair and dishevelled t-shirt made it look like he had just gotten out of bed before arriving to April’s.

Justin grinned at her, his upturned lips forming in a suggestive way.

Bridget shook her head; a smile playing on her face as she placed a finger to Justin’s mouth. “I gotta go. I’ll text you later,” she told Clark as Justin took her finger between his lips. She pressed end on her phone before Clark could say goodbye just as the tip of Justin’s tongue touched her finger, sending a spark through her body.

If Clark wants to fuck someone else then I’m going to too, she decided, looking Justin up and down. She pulled her finger out of his mouth and said, “So how was Montréal?” she pronounced the last part with more distinction, her French accent heavy.

“It was alright,” Justin said. His face was still close to hers and she could see stubble forming, she reached out a hand and brushed her fingers over his lips and then his chin. His skin was tanned as if he had spent the entire summer out in the sun, sailing or lying on a beach which Bridget knew he probably had. Justin continued to look at her, his navy blue eyes never leaving her face.

Bridget took her hand away and smoothed out one of the feathers on her black dress. She glanced up at Justin and saw that he was still staring. “Why did you come up to June’s room?” she questioned.

Justin pulled away and nodded towards the door behind him. “Bathroom,” he told her.

Bridget watched him disappear into the bathroom then pulled out her phone. She typed a text to Brooke and April but erased April from the conversation, not wanting to disturb her and Daniel. Clark ditched and Justin showed up…you know what that means ;)

She stood up from the chair, and slipped her phone back into her pocket then went over to the window. She ran a finger over the arm of a big rusted clock, a clock so big it looked like it had once been on a building. Normally it would look out of place in a bedroom, but this was June’s room and nothing looked out of place in there, not even mason jars filled with murky water or paintbrushes stuck to the windowsill with dried paint. She moved away from the window and walked over to June’s bed. It was messy as usual; Bridget didn’t think there had been a time when June’s room was clean. She moved aside several pairs of shoes and pods of eye shadow then climbed up on the mattress and had just sat when Justin walked back into the room.

He walked towards the bed and Bridget gave him what she hoped was seductive smile. He grinned back at her, making her whole body pang like she had missed a step on the stairs. He moved in closer to her, so his stomach was touching her bare legs and then leaned in more, so close now that she could count every single one of his eyelashes.

“Hi,” he murmured.

She moved her fingers through his sandy blonde hair. “Hi,” she whispered back.

He put his arms around her waist, harshly bringing her whole body against him, making her gasp with surprise and pleasure. She titled her head upwards to kiss him, automatically pulling his bottom lip into her mouth to nibble on. Justin responded by bringing a hand up to tangle in her hair, then he pushed against her, forcing her to lie back on the creased sheets.

Within seconds Justin was on the bed, hovering over her and then he pressed down against her, filling her stomach with warmth. He found her mouth again, grazing his teeth on her bottom lip before pushing his tongue in. Bridget opened her mouth wider and caught his tongue, then sucked on it firmly, letting him know she wanted more.

Justin was quick to comply, his hand searching her back for the fastening of her dress. Bridget lifted her body up, making room for his hands to find the clasp and then zip it down, freeing her body from the silky material before he dropped it to the floor.

He looked up at her, smiling bemusedly. “Someone’s being naughty,” he said as he reached out to touch between her legs.

“Just for you baby,” Bridget said as she shivered at his touch. She had purposely not worn any underwear for Clark, wanting to surprise him when his hand found his way up her dress. Now she felt silly for doing it, for making an effort to please Clark when he was inattentive when it came to her.

Justin reached a hand under Bridget’s bra, bringing her attention away from thoughts of efforts made for Clark and back to him. Her hands reached for the buckle of his belt, she quickly undid it and then unzipped his jeans, exposing the grey boxers he wore underneath.

She grinned up at him as a hand strayed under his top, wandering upwards to feel his abs. She moved her fingers back down, feeling the hem of his shirt before expertly removing it.

He moved off of her then, standing back on the floor to pull off the rest of his clothes. Bridget did the same, sitting up to unclasp her bra and shrugging out of it. She lay back down as Justin got back on top of her. Normally she wanted to be on top, every time she slept with Clark fighting for dominance and failing but, with Justin, she didn’t care.

Justin’s hands wandered over her body, his lips following every spot he touched. Bridget closed her eyes as his calloused fingers touched lightly between her legs, and then his breath was hot on her thighs, making every part of her tingle.

He stayed there, carefully kissing her until she reached for his head pulling him up to kiss her neck while she brought a hand down to his lower abdomen. “Condom,” she whispered as his kisses on her neck became more frequent.

Justin gave a final suck to her neck, leaving it throbbing with the promise of a hickey, then slid off the bed and bent down to his jeans.

Bridget propped herself up on her elbows, watching him as he felt around in each pocket before he stood empty handed.

“I don’t have one,” he told her.

“Oh,” Bridget whispered.

They were both silent, watching each other for a suggestion of what to do. Bridget tucked a few strands of hair behind an ear and Justin moved back over to the bed. He leaned against it and tickled Bridget’s foot, making her squirm and pull her knees up to her chin.

“Wait,” she said, getting off the bed. She went over to her fallen dress and shook it, making all its contents tumble to the ground: her phone, cigarettes, a lighter and, a condom. She picked up the condom and held it up to Justin, feeling slightly guilty for forgetting to put it in the spare room for April. But April was on the pill and Bridget highly doubted Daniel had picked up an STD from someone.

Justin sat up on the bed, watching her as she opened the condom and carefully took it out. It reminded her of the day she and Justin had lost their virginities to each other, a little over a year ago, on the eve of Bridget’s sixteenth birthday. Neither of them had a clue what they were doing, only having been told what would happen but never shown. Justin had been sweet though, and funny and careful, making the whole thing memorable, unlike Brooke’s loss of virginity which was short and happened in the back of Clark’s car.

Bridget climbed back up on the bed and carefully put the condom on; pinching the top like she had learned from health class in ninth grade. Then she sat on him, her whole body tensing as she watched Justin’s eyes close. She moved against him as he started kissing her chest, his teeth lightly biting, sending tingles up her spine.

Justin held her back then turned them over so he was on top. He brought a hand up to her breast and gently cupped it as kissed her, slow, deliberate pecks against her lips, in time with his movements. She wrapped her legs around his back as his mouth moved to her neck again, his breath and lips close to her ear.

They moved at a perfect, rhythmic pace, not tantalizing slow or overly fast, the whole time kissing and touching. Sex with Justin was different than with Clark, with Clark it was just thrusting, no touching, or kissing. He was good in bed, probably the best fuck Bridget ever had, but that’s all it was: fucking.

Bridget arched her back, feeling tension. It started in her stomach, then it was all over her body, even in the tips of her toes. It was building; building, building, and then Justin gave a thrust, making her toes curl and her mouth fall open in an O. He brought his lips to Bridget’s temple, still moving on top of her as her heart began to slow again, and then he stiffened, as a groan escaped his lips. Justin gently pushed against Bridget a few more times and then collapsed on top of her.

He lay on Bridget for a few minutes, his breath hot against her tingling skin. Bridget wanted to stay there like that, naked on June’s bed with Justin’s bare skin up against hers but knew that couldn’t happen. April had left her and Brooke in charge while she was with Daniel, and Brooke was probably even more tanked than she was when Bridget left meaning Bridget had to look after the house.

Justin rolled off of her, onto his back. Bridget moved too, climbing onto his torso so she was straddling him. He grinned at her as she leaned down and cupped his cheeks in her hands then pressed their noses together, smiling at him before giving him a soft kiss.

“We should probably go back to the party,” she whispered as she drew a J, a B and a heart on his chest. He watched her, idly moving his fingers against her arm.

Justin took her hand in his and kissed her fingers before sitting up. He held Bridget in his arms as he stood, making her giggle, then he slowly placed her on the floor.

Bridget reached for her dress and bra as Justin went into the bathroom, presumably ridding himself of the condom. She pulled up her dress just as Justin came back out and he held out his hands to zip up her up before pulling his clothes back on. He kissed her neck as he zipped, making a small shiver run through her.

She scooped up the things that she had dropped out of her dress pocket and tucked them back inside before checking her phone for texts. There was one from Brooke and one from Clark, an invitation to go to his house after he left Colin’s.

Bridget smiled happily to herself and texted Clark back: I’ll pass. Justin showed up so it’s not like I need you for anything. She hit send and put her phone away, knowing that would piss Clark off and make him regret ditching.

“You ready?” Justin asked, holding out his hand.

Bridget nodded and wove her fingers through Justin’s. She glanced back at the bed, making sure they hadn’t ruffled June’s bed sheets too much, but it looked relatively the same way as when she had first sat on it. They walked through the hall and downstairs, their linked hands earning looks from people as they passed.

Hayden stood at the bottom of the stairs with Lexi, both of them chatting to a group of girls. She looked up and gave Bridget a knowing smile, glancing at hers and Justin’s hands.

Bridget raised her eyebrows, smiling back, wishing that Clark was there, wanting to wipe the smug look off his face. Justin kissed the corner of her lips and finished descending the stairs, walking left towards the kitchen. Bridget scanned the crowd; people were still staring at her, everyone knowing that she had been fucking Clark since the middle of summer. Within minutes Clark would know that she had slept with Justin, and the satisfaction of that was better than any orgasm Clark had given her.