Dreams Or How I Live My Life in Daydreams

Mask

"Honey, is everything all right?"

Autumn screwed off the cap of the apple juice,  poured it into a glass, and took a gulp.  "I'm fine," she said.  The toast popped out of the toaster.  Her mother set it on a plate along with the scrambled eggs.  

"You've been so quiet since your date last night.  Did something happen?"  She looked over her shoulder at her daughter, her turquoise eyes scrutinizing.  

"No," Autumn replied.  "I'm just tired."  She wasn't about to give her mother the details of how she almost lost her v-card last night.     

Though still technically a virgin, she'd lost her innocence. She wasn't a naive girl anymore. She'd had her first sexual experience.

She took another swig of the apple juice. 

When did Maddox learn to do that technique? Another thought came to mind.  One that unsettled her. Did he do that with anyone else? Was she just another notch on his belt?

Clang! Her mother set a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast before her. Autumn picked up the dry toast and took a bite. It tasted like cardboard.

Yawning and stretching, Ashton entered the kitchen, his slippers scraping across the tiled floor. "Morning, sweetheart," he said, giving his wife a peck on the cheek.

"Morning, babe," she said, turning her head, chasing after his lips as he pulled away. 

"Ewww you're doing that mushy stuff again," Ace said, making gagging sounds.

Autumn choked mid-chew on her toast.

Chuckling, the man said, "Wait until you have your first crush." He pulled out the chair, the cushion flat as a pancake, and took a seat. 

The boy stuck out his tongue. "That won't happen," he said.

"Sis," he said, waving his hand in Autumn's face. 

 She glared at him. "What!" 

"You zoned out for a minute there," the boy said. 

"I was just thinking about something," she replied, hoping her blush didn't give her thoughts away. 

"If it's about the dress, I'm getting started on it today," the boy said.

"That's right," Abby chimed in. "While you were out on your date, I took Ace to the fabric store to pick up a few things. I can't wait to see the finished product, we bought so much stuff. The crystals alone almost blinded me."

"You're going to sparkle like those vampires in Twilight," the boy joked. 

"Oh, joy," Autumn groaned.

**********

A pep in his step, in a pleasant mood from last night's happenings, Maddox fastened the leash onto the collie's collar. His cheeks warmed. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think Autumn to be the aggressive type. When she started pleasuring him, his mind bugged out. He thought he'd go home with a case of blue balls but no go.

Clumsy at first, she found her stride. He became putty in her hands. Her touch electric.

The best part was hearing her cries of ecstasy from the skills he learned from watching Calvin's porn collection and taking mental notes. She rocked her hips, and the juices flowed. 

He sighed. If he kept with this train of thought, he'd have to go take a cold shower.

The dog tugged at the leash, impatience on its face. "I hear you, girl," he said, opening the door. 

He found himself staring into the face of Dante, sporting a shit-eating grin. "What are you doing here?" Maddox said, shoving by him. Hanging back, the dog growled at the taller boy.

The boy barked at the dog. 

"Leave her alone," Maddox said agitated.

"How'd your date go?" the boy said, chewing on every word, a gleam in his eyes.

The deviousness in the boy's eyes alerted Maddox's internal alarm. 

"How did you—"

"I have my sources," the boy said with a dismissive wave.

"It was okay," Maddox said, offering no additional information.

The boy eyed him. "You're a simp," he said.

Maddox rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he muttered. 

The boy smirked. "It's all good," he said. "Keep up the act. It'll make the plans we have in store for Autumn, even sweeter. Think about it! The night of the dance will be legendary." He licked his lips.

It took all of Maddox's willpower not to punch the boy. He had to restrain himself. He couldn't afford to let him get the better of him no matter how much he wanted to knock the grin off his demented face.

He took a breath. He'll keep up the act. He had to. The person dangling his freedom in his hand, like a carrot, stood in front of him. One impulsive move and it was over.

He mustered a fake smile. "Like you said. It's all going according to plan," he said.

"I can't wait to see the look on her face when you pull this off. It will be meme-worthy," the boy said.

Maddox cast his eyes to the ground, his conscience bearing down on him. "Yeah. It'll be the talk of the school."

The boy nudged his arm. "Glad to see you're still in the game. I thought you've gone soft. Thanks for proving me wrong."

"I'm Mad Zach," Maddox replied. "Have I ever backed down from a challenge?"

"Tell that to Marc," the boy said. 

Maddox flinched.

The boy laughed. "I'm just kidding."

Maddox knew it wasn't an offhanded joke. He took too much pleasure in twisting the knife.

The icy-haired blond took a step back on the flagstone walkway. "See you at school tomorrow."

"See you," Maddox said. He watched him strut away. 

He scrubbed his hand over his mouth. He bought time. For how long?

He took a step and slipped.  He looked down at his Air Jordan's smeared with dog poop. 

"Rue!" he chided. 

The dog had done its business on the walkway while he and Dante talked. If that wasn't a metaphor for the mess he was in, he didn't know what was.