Building Friction (Part 4)

The side of the house was cloaked in darkness, thanks to the light that had been burnt out for as long as I could remember. It was common to stumble out to this spot for a smoke and happen upon a couple of party-goers making nice with one another, but tonight the area was empty. I went to pull out my pack of cigarettes and light one when I felt his body close in on mine.

"Do you really want to taint that mouth of yours with smoke right at this moment?" Geoff asked. It was hard to make out his face in the almost non-existent light, but he exuded a strong presence that I couldn't deny.

I leaned back against the wall, as far as I could get from him. I lit the cigarette and inhaled deeply. "The blow job piece was an old one," I said softly, then exhaled. "You would have had to have looked through the archives to find it. Just how much of my stuff did you read?"

"Not everything, but enough," he replied, then held up the bottle of beer he had in his hand, angling the neck towards me in a motion to offer me a drink.

I shook my head. "I don't drink beer," I responded.

"Oh, well then I guess I'll just have to torture you with the taste in another way," he said, taking a large swig.

I laughed. "I don't drink beer," I repeated. "But I love the taste of a beer kiss."

He tilted his head at me. I could just make out that smirk of his in the dim light. "Oh, really?" It was a brief comment of genuine surprise, delivered so swiftly that I was still pondering the meaning behind it when he covered my mouth with his. His lips were cold and robust with the taste of the brew. I fought the urge to push him off of me, trying to remember that the kiss was a part of the bet I'd just lost. His tongue dipped between my lips and caressed mine. It was mildly insistent, but swirled gently in my mouth. I found my own tongue responding in kind.

He broke away just as my eyelids began to flutter closed. "You're liking this too much, I think." He raised the bottle to his lips and drank again.

"Ha!" I snorted, then took another drag off of my cigarette. "Nah, I'm just a good actress." I toed the ground with my foot, then bent it and placed the sole flat against the side of the house. "I wanted to give you the sense like you really won something. As much as I hate to admit it, you did play that game well."

"You wanted to give me that sense, huh?" He leaned down and put the beer on the ground, then grabbed my hand and wrestled the cigarette from it. He took a drag off of it before tossing it aside. "I think you need to work a little harder on your acting skills then."

He moved in fast, wrapping one arm around my waist, and placing the other hand behind my neck. My body lifted forward off of the house and I was pressed against him, his mouth devouring mine. My arms hung loosely at my sides while he pulled me in harder, as if he was trying to melt my body to his. I closed my eyes in earnest now, and found my right arm moving upward, my hand locking behind his neck. My body grew receptive to his touch. Despite myself, I felt a warmth growing between my legs, one that I was very certain had little to do with the excessive amounts of alcohol and drug that I had gone through.

His balance was suddenly thrown off by my reception, and he stumbled forward while still holding me. My back pounded up against the wall, and my breath escaped me. His mouth parted from mine for an instant before it was on it again. The hand at my waist came up to my head, and then he was cradling my face in his hands, holding it steady. I placed a palm on his side and felt it rise and fall with his hard breathing. I was returning the kisses as hard as he was delivering them. It felt as if we were trying to consume one another whole.

Without being aware, I let out a soft moan against his mouth. His lips drew to a slow close and he hummed against mine. He broke from our connection and drew his tongue slowly across his bottom lip. I was breathing so hard, it was bordering on panting.

"Yes, I think you might be liking this a little too much," he said again, then straightened his posture. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, then let that smirk of his fall back into place.

I struggled for composure. "Pssssh. You said I wasn't a good enough actress. I felt the need to prove you wrong," I argued.

"Yeah. Yeah, that was it." He smiled broadly, taunting me. "You couldn't possibly have actually enjoyed kissing me."

"You know what?" I was standing taller now, jutting my chest out. I pushed him at the shoulder. "Fuck you, you arrogant piece of shit! Who really cares if I was liking it or not? I've taken enough from you tonight. I could have pussed out on the bet. I could have made something up and denied you the privilege of coming out here with me... and despite what you might want to call it, you KNOW being here right now, with me like this, is a fucking privilege for a smug piece of shit like you."

"Oh, yes. The Almighty Chloe is such the prize. The girl who can write seven ways til Sunday about what other people are supposed to do in their romances but can't lower herself enough to let someone into her own life. The girl who has all of the answers to the questions she's too chicken to ask herself is the ultimate goal for every slobbering fool like myself." His eyes were glowing through the darkness. "That's right. I should feel honored to be able to kiss a woman who wouldn't know how to appreciate a genuine gesture if it bit her on the ass and took up permanent residence there."

I was shaking with anger. "What the fuck do you know? You read a couple pieces of mine and think you've got me all figured out? You've known me for what? A whopping two hours? And the majority of that time you spent antagonizing me because I'm not someone who just tolerates outright idiocy."

"Idiocy? Where the fuck are you getting all of this from? Because I spilled a little beer on you? Wow. And you think I was prejudging you! That's a fucking riot! At least I had some information to go on. What the fuck do you really know about ME?" He took a step closer to me, boxing me up against the wall.

"I know your type! Know-it-all men who think that women are some complimentary pastime in their lives. Men who see women as only being an accessory and not an equal!" I straightened my back and refused to allow him to physically intimidate me.

"My type? My type?" His voice was rising to a yell. "That's what I can't stand about women like you! So certain they know so much about men, but in reality they never bother to actually get to know any. You think you know what my type is like? Hell, if I really was the arrogant asshole that you kept calling me, you think I would have even bothered to keep trying to talk to your pretentious ass?"

"It doesn't matter how pretentious it is, as long as you can get a good look at it!" I countered.

"Oh, I hate to burst your bubble sweetheart," he started, "No wait, strike that. I am going to LOVE bursting your precious bubble. I'm going to pop that motherfucker and dance after I do it. That ass you are so certain I covet? It could be an award winning, Olympic contending ass that brought me coffee and TiVo'ed the World Series for all I care. If it meant having to deal with your bullshit, I STILL wouldn't be interested!"

There was suddenly a hush coming from my left. A crowd had gathered and were staring down the side of the house, listening to everything. Casey finally ventured a question at the momentary break in our argument. "Is everything OK over there?" he posed tentatively.

"NO!" Geoff and I chimed in unison, then turned and glared at each other again.

I began to open my mouth and speak again, but Geoff held up his hand and cut me off. "You know what? I'm through. I'm out of here. Consider this a win for you, Chloe. I know how important they are to you. Take it," he leaned down and picked up his beer and then started off towards the crowd. "Take it, and choke on it."

As he walked off into the distance, I let out a scream. Joshua came bounding over to me and asked if I was OK. I just shook my head and pulled out my pack of cigarettes again, lighting one and trying to cloud out the last 10 minutes.

As I took a drag, I could still feel my lips tingling from our kiss.