from Pain to Pleasure (Gainesville Book 1) (13 page)

Alex heard Brian’s voice again, but he didn’t scream. Danielle’s body visibly relaxed. He stroked her hair which soothed her even more.

“I was so tired. It was a long trip. I’m so sorry.”

Brian sighed. “Don’t do it again, or you’re not watching another game.” He still seethed but slowly calmed himself. He hated her fear lately. If he knew how to control her without fear, he would. “Why do you wanna watch a football game anyway? You don’t know jackshit about football.”

“Um… It’s fun… Uh, the whole school goes.” She couldn’t think of anything else to say.

With a loud exhalation, Brian looked up at his computer screen. He had put aside most of his work that day to track her down. “I have to get back to work. Text me when the game is over, and then when you leave.”

“We’re staying another night.” Danielle cringed. She expected him to yell.

He just scowled. “Why?”

“Because…” She looked to Marie and tried to think of an excuse other than the party that night.

Marie had no clue what Brian had asked, but obviously it was a loaded question.

“Because the trip back is so long.” Danielle told a half-truth. “The game may be over pretty late.”

Brian quelled the anger that built back up, but his voice portrayed it anyway. “If the game starts late, why the fuck did you go up there yesterday?” He imagined she partied with her friends and wound up in some guy’s arms. He’d kill anyone who tried to take her from him. “You cheating on me?”

“No!” she quickly cried out, terrified again.

Alex felt it and held her closer. He wanted to grab the phone and give him a piece of his mind. However, he knew it would upset her even more. He hated that she was too scared to get out from under Brian’s thumb. What he had done to break her, Alex couldn’t imagine. Well, actually he could, just wasn’t sure which scenario was the truth. He had an idea it had to do with sex or her scars, but he didn’t want to jump to conclusions. He planned to find out, though. She meant more to him than anyone in the world.

Danielle put her phone on the bed, and then turned around and sobbed into Alex’s chest. She needed his strength to let the fear go. He held her close and stroked her hair. The fun morning they had was spoiled by her insane boyfriend’s rants.
Tell me what to do
, she begged internally. Terror seized her yet again.

“I won’t let his brother touch you again, beautiful.” He kissed the top of her head when she shuddered. “I’ll keep them all away.”

A chill went up her spine as she thought about what would happen if Brian knew she was in Alex’s arms as they spoke. “You can’t protect me all the time.” It was so soft, no one but Alex heard her.

“I’m gonna try.”

Then Logan shouted, “What the fuck, Alex?” Everyone turned to Logan as he came out of the bathroom. “You have a little situation in the bathroom.”

“Shit!” Alex moved Danielle and jumped off the bed. He totally forgot he hadn’t cleaned up. When he was next to Logan, he whispered, “Marie kinda interrupted me.”

Logan smirked. “I get to cum
in
her. Guess you still got just your hand, huh?” he teased quietly.

“Fuck you.” Alex rolled his eyes. He was jealous, though. Danielle would probably refuse him if he tried to come on to her that day, after what Brian put her through. Any time he saw her after she and Brian had talked, she was nervous and distant. He hated that.

Danielle watched Alex disappear into the bathroom. She didn’t want to know what Logan meant. Truthfully, it didn’t matter to her at all. Brian had reverted to the old him. He swung back and forth through moods and threatened her. She was sure that if he had been home, he would have traveled up there, and then punished her in front of as many people as he could.

Then she realized, unlike their families and his friends, someone from school might stop him or call the police. He had tortured her in plain view of their parents before; both fathers had smirked as she screamed. They were a disgusting, sadistic bunch. She had expected one of them to help her, but they just sat there and watched as he forced his way in, her bent over the dining room table.

Marie saw the look in Danielle’s eyes change. She quickly got on the bed and hugged her. “Hey. It’s OK. He can’t hurt you from Russia.”

“But…” Danielle shook and sniffled before she whispered, “…but his friends can.”

She looked to Logan. He had told her he caught a guy in their room, supposedly about to beat her with a belt, or possibly worse. It finally made sense. Crazy Brian kept tabs on her by proxy. Marie mentally tallied all the strange reactions she had seen from Danielle when Alex was around. Danielle had been severely abused, mentally and physically. Marie had hoped the group Alex got her to go to would help her. It didn’t seem to do any good yet.

Alex’s phone rang again. Logan quickly answered it. “Alex is busy. This is Logan.”

Gary’s very deep voice boomed, “Where the hell is he? We gotta go.”

Logan sighed. “We had a small emergency with Danielle.” He realized he should have made something up instead.

“Is he fucking her?” Gary laughed. “That fucking hornball.”

Logan smirked at Danielle. He was almost sure he would be sometime soon after what he saw that morning. When he and Marie had walked in, he thought they were fucking. It looked like they were.

“No,” Logan replied when he shook the image of her half-naked. “It’s not a good thing. I’ll tell him to move his ass.”

Gary exhaled into the phone. “OK. We’ll be at the bus.”

Logan knocked on the bathroom door while he ended the call. “Time to go.”

“I’m almost done,” Alex shouted back. He had found droplets all over the floor. He didn’t want Danielle to know he masturbated so much.

When Alex came out, Danielle still hid her legs under the covers. He hated that she felt the need to do that, but she probably didn’t want to explain the scars. He hoped she told him how she got them soon. It was either Brian or her father, but he wanted to know
who
did it. He could just imagine the pain all those welts had caused her.

He leaned over the bed and kissed her cheek. “I have to go. I’ll see you later.” He leaned down lower and whispered, “I’ll miss you.”

Danielle smiled and quietly replied, “I’ll miss you, too.” Then she took her cross off and put it around his neck while he grinned. She made sure he had it on for every game. “Please stay safe.”

He softly kissed her lips. “I will.”

The game was exciting. Danielle had learned more about football by then. She knew enough to follow most of what was going on, although penalties still confused her. Alex played in the second quarter and scored twice. She was very proud of him. The fear from Brian’s call dissipated, thankfully.

Marie and Logan tried not to grope each other during the game. They had discovered they were on the same level sexually and couldn’t get enough of each other. A few times, Logan’s fingers wandered under her skirt. He fingered her pussy to encourage her to sneak off with him to fuck again.

By the end of the game, Logan was at the end of his rope. “I gotta do you,” he whispered in Marie’s ear.

She giggled. “My panties are soaked.”

Danielle rolled her eyes. She couldn’t believe how open they were about their affair. It wouldn’t surprise her if they had sex right in the stands. “I’m going to meet Alex.”

“We’ll see you later.” Logan grinned deviously as he pulled Marie away.

As soon as Alex came out of the locker room, he lifted Danielle up and spun her around. “Did you see that play I made?”

She closed her eyes as he spun her again. It was something that made her feel his strength, and she enjoyed it. “Yes.” She didn’t know which one he meant. The game seemed to melt together in her mind afterward.

Alex put her down in front of him but held her tightly. “We’re having a party at the hotel.” Dave had said he would pay for any damages. He had turned 21 the previous month and received his trust fund. That meant a celebration was in order.

Danielle smiled and looked up at him. She had texted Brian as instructed but didn’t get an answer. That meant he was asleep, and he wouldn’t bother her for a while. “You were amazing today.” Their eyes met. She tried to hide the fact that she felt so much more than friendship toward him.

“Thanks.”

He leaned down to kiss her lips, but then a few of his teammates passed them. Her worry rubbed off on him. He didn’t want anyone to tell Brian what they saw, although he didn’t think they would. Once they were alone, he took her hand in his and pulled her toward the exit.

When they arrived at the hotel, Danielle and Alex followed the crowd to the rear. The pool was there, as were tables with chairs all around it. The weather was in their favor. Normally, a Tennessee October was chilly, but it was warm and beautiful that night; perfect for an outdoor party.

Dave had paid for a bartender. Music also played. That night, students almost exclusively filled the hotel, so there were not many guests there who would complain about the noise. Dave was smart and put up a sign that anyone who stayed there was invited. The whole football team was there, as were the cheerleaders.

When Marie and Logan arrived, Alex and Danielle were close to the entrance, talking to one of Alex’s friends. Alex lifted his beer. “Stay with her. I gotta go mingle; part of the job of being low man on the totem pole.” He kissed Danielle’s cheek and walked away.

“You guys have any fun yet?” Marie winked.

Danielle huffed, “I can’t have sex with him.”

“Brian will never know,” Marie quietly told her. “Just let him have it once. He looks like he’s gonna explode, being faithful to you.”

Danielle glanced Alex’s way. He was with Dave and Charlie, the team’s kicker and Dave’s roommate. “He doesn’t have to be. We’re not together.”

“That boy fell for you weeks ago,” Marie declared. “I bet he’d do anything to be your man. How about you let him eat you out? Or give him a blowjob. That’s not sex.” She had a very different outlook on sex than Danielle did.

Danielle tuned Marie out and watched Alex. Her feelings for him terrified her more than ever. Every moment they had together showed her what she missed because she held back. She wished there was a way to have it all. However, until she could leave Brian, she had to hold back with Alex. The grip Brian had on her was intense and felt impossible to break.

The hairs on the back of Alex’s neck stood up. He could feel her eyes on him. He turned and smiled at Danielle, who quickly blushed. He knew she wanted more out of their relationship, and he wished he could make her see he would take care of the Brian problem. Bullies need to be put in their place.

Charlie was next to him but chatted with a cheerleader. Charlie asked her, “You wanna go for a swim?” He scanned her body and smirked.

The girl replied, “What about your girlfriend?”

“She don’t mind.” Charlie winked.

Alex looked away as they started to take their clothes off. He soon heard two splashes. The noise attracted his attention. The cheerleader obviously still had her bra on. At least they weren’t naked.

“Hey, have another beer.” Dave took Alex’s empty and handed him another one. He wanted Alex to be more like himself, instead of the uptight character he had been since he had met Danielle. “Why don’t you and Danielle go swimming, too?” He cocked an eyebrow. “Maybe you can give her a little something to remember you by.”

Alex sighed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right. Imagine that.” His frustration was hard to hide after a few drinks. “She’s locked up tighter than a fucking nun most of the time.”

“I know something that’ll loosen her up.” Dave waved at the bartender.

Alex grabbed his hand. “No. She don’t drink, and I don’t want her that way. It’s hard to explain.”

“If you say so.” Dave looked over at Danielle, who smiled at Alex. She just needed a bit of encouragement he was sure. “I’ll have them make up something non-alcoholic for Danielle and the other lame-asses.”

Angrily, Alex came back with, “Hey, don’t talk about her that way. She might be a bit straight-laced, but she means a lot to me.” He didn’t want to mention why she feared sex and alcohol.

“Sorry, dude—just saying.” He walked to the bar, and then behind it to talk to the bartender.

Danielle smiled as Alex came back to her. The other guys there chased girls and drank like fish. Alex took it easy on the drinking and had eyes for only her. When they were close enough, Alex took her in his arms.

“They have soda, and Dave is making non-alcoholic punch, OK?” Alex was glad Dave accommodated her. “I won’t drink much. I promise.” He had heard Brian’s dad was a mean drunk.

Danielle ran her hands slowly up and down his back and wished they were alone. There were numerous girls at the party, and she felt slightly insecure. Many of them walked around in bikinis or just their underwear. She could never do that, even without the scars all over her body.

“I have to go. My job is to be sure everyone’s having a good time.” He kissed her forehead. “I’ll be back.”

Danielle sat in a chair while Marie and Logan made out next to her, Marie in his lap. Her eyes followed Alex as he went from table to table. He shook hands and handed out drinks. Several cheerleaders winked at him or touched his arm, but he just smiled and moved on. One girl kissed him. He pulled away, irritated. Yet she was still jealous. She stared at her hands.
I have no right to be jealous. I can’t be with him
. The internal struggle seemed to never end for her.

Alex was tired of being hit on and groped by drunken women. It was weird, but it annoyed him. Only Danielle mattered. He hoped she didn’t see Chantelle touch him. She rubbed it through his jeans and tried to open his zipper. They had fucked several times, but Alex didn’t want her.

When Lita rubbed her body against him and grabbed his ass, he groaned and pushed her away. “This is ridiculous.” He walked over to Dave. “I’m sorry, but I can’t take this anymore.”

Dave laughed. “You do have quite the reputation, you know. And you already fucked almost every chick here. Does
she
know about that?”