Clover (16 page)

Three Years Ago

Jake locked the door to his room and turned his music up just a little. Not so loud that his Aunt Tammy would come banging on his door demanding that he turn it down, but loud enough that she wouldn’t be able to hear everything he was doing.

Somewhere between being scared to death of being so far away from home during his first summer here and now, he’d come to think of his aunt’s house as his too. She’d stopped looking at him like she expected him to break at any moment and started treating him like he was capable of contributing. He was no longer afraid of the day that his parents would decide to send him to live with her year round. Now he hoped it would happen.

Maybe if he just asked, they would let him stay here full time instead of heading home at the end of summer like normal. It would suck to start his junior year at a new school, but he’d make it work. He already knew a few of the local kids, and God knew that coming home to Aunt Tammy would be better than dealing with his parents’ perpetual drama. He was amazed they hadn’t killed one another yet. Or at the very least divorced.

He’d thought that maybe they’d like each other better after his dad finished school a few years ago and got a decent job with the state. To a certain degree, they did. They still fought like crazy, but they were hardly ever home at the same time anymore. It afforded Jake a narrow window after school when he could do his homework without feeling like he was in a war zone.

They were the perfect cautionary tale against teen pregnancy. He had to give them credit for staying together when no one thought they would, but he really had no idea why they did. Somewhere beneath the angry names and the all too frequent bruises, they must love one another.

It was enough to make him swear off sex until he was at least thirty. He didn’t care how good an orgasm felt; it wasn’t worth a lifetime of misery with the person you shared it with. Thanks, but no thanks. He’d make do with an economy size container of lotion and his right hand.

Summer was almost over and he was scheduled to return to Salem next week. He’d given up on seeing Clover this year. She’d moved to Seattle for school. R.J. said she was supposed to be home at some point, but he wasn’t sure when.

Then today, while he was bucking hay bales onto the truck, Clover had driven by the field where he was working. She’d driven by without even noticing he was there, but it was all he needed. She’d had her window down, her sunglasses on, and her skin was dark summer tan. And his stupid, unrelenting crush was once again confirmed.

It’d taken a couple of hours to finish what he was working on. Then another half hour to make it to his room. His cock throbbed the entire time. Thank God no one had really paid attention to him enough to notice. That would have been difficult to explain. At sixteen, one glimpse of Clover Watson driving by at fifty-five miles per hour was enough to get him hard and keep him that way for hours.

Jake wished he had a picture of her as he loosened the fly on his jeans enough to free himself, but the image in his mind was more than enough. He grabbed the lotion from his dresser, and closed his eyes as he wrapped his hand around his cock.

How long would his body continue to respond to Clover like this?

Present Day

“I’m so late.” Clover kissed Jake again rather than getting out of the car. He didn’t mind at all. As far as he was concerned, she could spend the rest of the afternoon making out with him in the parking lot instead of going inside.

“Should we stop?” He asked between kisses. He’d worked his hand up under her shirt and her stomach was smooth and soft. He wanted to push the shirt up and off until he could touch all of her.

Clover nodded and pulled away briefly. “Yes, but I don’t want to.” She kissed him again, but this time it clearly signaled the end of the encounter.

“Want me to walk you in? Say hi to your boss? Show him my biceps.” Jake flexed. He’d worked hard on his body for the last five years. If the added bulk convinced Clover’s boss to back off, then he was willing to try.

Clover stared at his arm and bit her lip. The look on her face said she wasn’t thinking about work anymore. “God, the things I want to do to you.”

Before he could ask her to elaborate, she climbed out of the car. He scrambled to keep up with her. “Is that a yes?”

“No. I’ll be fine. Here.” She held out her keys.

Jake backed up half a step without taking the keys. He really enjoyed riding in that car, but he wasn’t ready to drive it. It was worth more than both of his parents’ cars combined. There was no way he could afford to fix anything if something happened to it. Besides, Mr. Watson had been okay with him dating Clover so far, but that didn’t mean he would approve of Jake driving Clover’s new car, especially without her in it. “I’ll walk.”

“Don’t be silly, Jake. There’s no reason for you to walk when my car is right here and I’m not using it.”

Jake stepped in and kissed Clover, then stepped back just as quickly. “I’ll see you in a little bit.”

He jogged across the parking lot before she could argue. Mason’s was only a few blocks from the pool. The perimeter of his aunt’s farm was farther and he walked that regularly to check the fence line for signs of wear and damage.

Mason’s was an old-fashioned small town drugstore with a bell over the door. It tinkled when Jake entered and the employee working behind the counter asked if he needed help finding anything.

The question alone made his face flush with heat, so he thanked her, but didn’t ask for directions. It was a small store. How hard could it be to find condoms?

As it turned out, finding a candy bar was a lot easier. He found condoms in the last aisle closest to the pharmacy. There was full section with more choices than he realized existed. He’d expected to have a choice in package size, like twelve condoms instead of thirty-six, but the rest was a total surprise.

Some were ribbed, some lubed, and some were flavored. There was even a brand made out of sheepskin. He read the information on the box. He didn’t care how thin the membrane was; he wasn’t about to involve a dead animal during his first time with Clover. No way. He put the package back on the shelf and selected a different brand.

“Need any help, son?” A man wearing a white coat and a nametag that said “David Mason, Pharmacist” asked. His hair was the same color as the coat, but he had lots of it. His eyes were bright blue and filled with sharp curiosity.

Jake didn’t know either of his grandfathers, but it wasn’t hard to picture David Mason, Pharmacist surrounded by his many grandchildren on holidays. Jake wasn’t sure that he was ready to discuss the merits of different types of condoms with someone’s grandfather. It beat talking to the girl at the counter about it, however.

“Umm…” He returned the box to the shelf without reading it. The label said Magnum. “How do I know which one?” He gestured vaguely at the shelf and tried not to choke on his own saliva.

“Well,” the pharmacist spoke gently, like he was afraid Jake would spook at any moment, “a lot of these are just smoke and mirrors, son. Frankly, you shouldn’t need the condom to do anything except keep you both safe.”

Jake nodded. That advice allowed him to eliminate half the selection. “Anything else?”

“These here,” he nudged the box Jake had been holding with his knuckle, “are for men who have been extra blessed. Most of us can’t use those without risking some grave embarrassment.”

Jake had spent enough time in locker rooms during high school to know that he was bigger than some, but not as big as others. He marked the Magnums off the list of possibilities. “Do I need one with a ‘reservoir tip’ thing?”

“It’s not a bad idea. That way everything stays…where you want it.”

“What about lube?” That was Jake’s last question. The pharmacist managed to walk Jake through the process without making him want to run and hide.

“That’s a little trickier. The answer to that one is really up to the woman. I will say this. If you end up needing it, the lube included in the package won’t be sufficient.”

That didn’t help Jake at all. The few times he’d touched Clover
there
, she’d been so wet it had coated his fingers, hand, and even his face. It felt glorious and like it should have been enough for his cock to move easily inside her. But what if he was wrong? It’s not like he had tons of experience. What if Clover wanted a little extra? Then what?

“So what should I do?”

“Get these.” The pharmacist pressed a box of twelve condoms without lubrication into his hand. “And also get this.” He followed with a bottle of lube labeled “Wet.” For the price on the shelf, he hoped it would live up to the promise.

Jake thanked the man for his help and headed for the checkout. He was halfway there when he caught sight of the woman working the counter. She smiled at him like she knew too much about him, and Jake turned back to the pharmacy.

The pharmacist smiled as Jake approached. “Need something else, son?”

“Can I pay for this here?” Jake set the items on the counter. He just needed to get them into a bag and get out of the store before he lost his nerve. No wonder there was such a high incidence of teen pregnancy. Buying condoms was unnerving.

The pharmacist rang him up and Jake made it out the front door without passing out from embarrassment. He’d forgotten all about his aunt’s list and he wasn’t about to go back in after that.

He looked over the list. Safeway would have everything and it was only a few more blocks down the street.

Jake set off at a jog. The quicker he finished up, the quicker he could get back to Clover.

#

It only took a few minutes to get what he needed from Safeway, then Jake was back in the parking lot and ready to head to the pool. He only made it a few steps before he ran into R.J. Literally. Jake had been checking over his receipt and not paying attention to where he was headed, when he slammed mid-stride into another person.

“I’m so sorry,” he apologized out of habit before he realized who he’d run into.

R.J. laughed and smacked him in the arm. “Sheesh, watch where you’re walking, why don’t you?”

Brandon stood next to R.J. shaking his head. “I’m going to head inside.”

“What’s so interesting?” R.J. snatched the receipt out of Jake’s hand and read it over. “Toothpaste, shampoo...this is boring.” He gave the receipt back.

Jake shrugged. “It’s for my aunt.”

“Hey, look what I got.” R.J. held up a set of keys. “Dad gave me Clover’s old car. I think his message was that I should stay in school and study hard, then one day I can have a sweet ride like he gave Clover, but I don’t even care. I have a car!”

Jake noticed Clover’s old Corolla sitting in the parking lot. To R.J., it was a hand-me-down that he had to settle for until his dad bought him something nicer. To Jake, it was several steps up from his pick-up and it was an upgrade no one was going to hand to him. He’d have to work hard to earn it.

“That’s awesome, man.” Jake patted R.J. on the back and tried not to think about how some parts of life were just unfair. R.J. was his friend. He was happy for him, despite the twinge of jealousy.

“Do you need a ride somewhere? I have to wait for Brandon, since he’s my designated driving supervisor for the trip home, but we can drop you off on the way, if you want.”

Jake remembered when he got his driver’s permit at fifteen and a half. He was so eager for time behind the wheel that he was willing to go anywhere, just like R.J. was now. For him, though, he had to bide his time carefully. Asking his dad for a driving lesson was a risky proposal. Sometimes, his dad would clap his hand on his shoulder with a proud smile and usher him out the door. Other times he would scream about being too busy to go for a joy ride. Once, he backhanded Jake across the face hard enough to knock him down. When Jake knocked a picture off the wall on his way to the ground, his dad kicked him in the side hard enough to crack a rib. After that, he stopped asking.

“I’m good. The pool isn’t too far.”

“Oh, that’s right. You’re going to watch Clover work. It’s like you’re thirteen all over again.” R.J.’s voice held just a little too much contempt to be playful.

Jake took a deep breath and counted to ten before speaking. He never wanted to be the guy who said things he regretted later. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

R.J. shook his head and pushed his hand through his hair. “Nothing, man. Nothing. I’m sorry.”

Jake wanted to let it go, but R.J. was his friend and clearly agitated. “No, really, what’s going on?”

“I just…you’re my friend, right?” R.J. waited for Jake to nod before he continued. “Clover’s always ignored you, but this summer she finally noticed that you’re alive and that you’re in love with her, and suddenly it’s like I don’t exist. And that sucks.”

Jake stopped short. The anger he’d been chewing on over R.J.’s comment left him and he was embarrassed to discover he was a crappy friend. That wasn’t something he’d ever known about himself before. He touched R.J.’s shoulder. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“God, stop it. I can’t even be mad at you.” R.J. pulled Jake into a one-arm hug and clapped his hand against his back in the way men do. That was something Jake didn’t understand. Men had such a hard time expressing their emotions with each other. It shouldn’t be so hard to tell R.J. that he was his friend.

Still, despite his wish that he could be more open, Jake pulled away. “Stop being all mushy. You’re going to make me drop my stuff.”

“Hey, you went to Mason’s. Remember how Clover would take us there to get candy bars?” He grabbed the bag before Jake realized what he was doing. “What’d you get this time?”

Jake reached for the bag, but R.J. snatched it out of the way. He tried again. “Come on, man. Give it back.”

R.J. laughed and danced back out of Jake’s reach. “No way. I want to see what has you so stressed out. Did your aunt make you buy her tampons? Is that why you’re blushing?”

R.J. pulled the box of condoms and lube out of the bag and stared at them open-mouthed. He wasn’t laughing anymore. Jake reached for the bag again. This time R.J. didn’t stop him from taking the items and stuffing them back into the bag.

“Oh, man. She’s my
sister
.” R.J.’s face was a mixture of horror and disgust.

“And she’s my girlfriend.” Jake kept his voice soft. He understood how R.J. felt. It was just different for Jake. And he loved Clover too much to let R.J.’s opinion of their relationship stop him from being with her.

“That is just so
gross
.” R.J. did a full body shiver.

Jake had a momentary panic. If R.J. was this freaked out about it, who would he share it with? “You cannot tell your dad. He would
kill
me.”

R.J. shook his head. “I’m grossed out, but I’m not stupid.”

Jake stuffed the bag from Mason’s inside the one from Safeway. He didn’t want to go through this again. “So you won’t tell him?”

“Of course not. But you better not hurt my sister. She’s a pain in the ass, but if you screw her over, I won’t have to tell my dad. I’ll kill you myself.”

Jake puffed up his chest on reflex. He didn’t want to get into a pissing contest with R.J., but Jake was bigger, stronger, and older. And he didn’t like being threatened, even when he understood the reason. He knew what it felt like to be on the wrong side of someone’s temper and his body automatically responded with a flood of adrenaline and a strong urge to defend.

“I mean it,” R.J. continued. “You’re my friend, but she’s my sister. It’s my job to look out for her.”

Jake almost laughed at that. Clover was seven years older and infinitely better qualified to take care of herself than R.J. ever would be. The look on R.J.’s face kept him from vocalizing any of that, though. He was dead serious and Jake was still wound too tight. If he teased him, they’d end up in a fistfight right there. He had no doubt about it. He’d been hit enough times to know to avoid it whenever possible.

Jake worked to calm himself before he spoke. He didn’t want to make things any worse than they were. “You have nothing to worry about. I promise.”

R.J. crossed his arms over his chest and nodded sharply. “Okay.”

“Okay.” Jake didn’t know what else to say, but it was one of those moments when he knew he was supposed to respond in some way.