(Then) Kinsley: An Ending and a Beginning

"Put some clothes on," Kate instructed me.

"I have clothes on," I replied, rolling my eyes and looking back at the TV.

Kate walked over to the TV and turned it off, then stood in front of it.  "Real clothes.  Going out clothes.  Remember?  You told me you'd go to that party with me."  I didn't move and she sighed.  "Kinsley, it's the end of the year!  We need to celebrate."

"Fine," I grumbled.  I hauled myself off the couch and walked towards my room.  "Come help!" I called over my shoulder at her.  I laid on my bed while Kate picked out something for me to wear, then I dutifully put it on.  "Whose party is this?" I asked, plugging in my hair straightener.

"My friend Kendra's boyfriend's.  He and some friends have a really great house, I guess.  I've never been there."  She shook her head and unplugged my straightener, swapping it for my curling iron.

"You want curls on my head, you're putting them there," I informed her.  She shrugged and started pawing through my makeup.

An hour later, I was dressed, curled, and made up to Kate's specifications, and we were in a cab on the way to Kate's friend Kendra's boyfriend's house.  Wherever that was.  We pulled up in front of a house that was not too far from campus and Kate paid the cab driver. 

There were already a ton of people there, but Kate managed to find Kendra quickly.  She introduced me.  Kendra seemed really nice but I could tell that big parties like this weren't really her scene.  She took us into the kitchen to get some drinks and we were in there for all of 5 minutes before I felt someone walk up behind me.  Before I could turn around, I heard Michael's voice say, "Kate, you look great.  It's good to see you."  I turned and gave him a 'what the fuck?' look.  "Oh, hey Kins.  How's it going?"  Seriously?  My roommate gets a compliment and I get an 'oh, hey Kins'?  I glared at him.  He just smiled back.   I hadn't seen or talked to Michael since the night we had sex in my bed, and this was how he made his re-entrance?

Being the perfectly reasonable, mature 21 year old that I was, I smiled sweetly and scanned the room for a guy to flirt with.  I located two possibilities and managed to catch one of their eyes.  I smiled my best flirty smile and he grinned right back.  A few minutes later, he wandered over.

"Hi," he said, staring at me.  "I'm Eric."

I shifted my eyes down just for a brief second, then raised them back up to his.  "Kinsley."  After a beat, I introduced Kate, Kendra, and Michael.  He nodded at them but was clearly there to talk to me.  I laughed to myself, turning away from Michael to give Eric my full attention.  After a few minutes, I let him lead me away into a different room.

As we walked out of the kitchen, I couldn't help but throw a glance over my shoulder at Michael.  He was watching me walk out, shaking his head.  I smirked at him before turning back to follow Eric. 

Eric and I found a quieter corner to stand and drink and talk.  He was horrifically stupid, but that didn't matter for now.  When he realized my drink was empty, he jumped up right away to go get me a new one.

I was waiting for him to come back when I became aware of someone approaching from behind.  Before I had a chance to turn, assuming it was Eric, whoever it was was pressed against my back.  I started to turn my head, but an arm snaked around my chest, holding me in place.  "Having a good time?" Michael purred in my ear.  I shivered when his lips brushed lightly against my earlobe.

Before I could answer, Eric came back.  "Dude, what the fuck?" he said, looking at us in confusion.  I squirmed a little trying to turn to face Eric.

"Sorry," Michael replied, flashing a smile at Eric and tightening his grip on me.  "Need to keep her on a shorter leash."  I tried again to wiggle free again, furious at his words.

"You should probably let her go," Eric said.  "She doesn't look too happy."  He took a step closer.  Michael laughed.  He had several inches on Eric and was clearly completely unconcerned with his apparent desire to defend me.

"I'm fine, Eric.  I'm sorry, this is awkward."  I smiled weakly at him.  He glared from me to Michael, then turned and walked off.

As soon as he was gone, Michael let go of me.  I spun and stared at him.  "I fucking hate you." I spat.

"I know, I know.  And you'll hate me forever.  And ever.  Do we really have to go through this part, or can we skip it and find somewhere to have sex?"  He looked at me with a completely expressionless face, as if he was perfectly bored by this interaction.

"You hit on my roommate to antagonize me," I accused him.

"And you hit on Eric to antagonize me," he tossed back easily.  He yawned, further solidifying his bored appearance.

"You did it first!" I snapped, my voice starting to get loud.

"Shhh," he hushed me, pressing a finger to my lips.  "People will think you're a damsel in distress."  He moved his fingertip a bit lower, running it across my lower lip. My lips parted automatically and I knew this was happening again.

Without saying a word, I turned away from him and walked up towards the stairs, trusting that he'd follow.  I sensed him close on my heels as I went upstairs.  A door opened as we walked past, and a girl with blonde hair came out, almost walking right into me.  "Watch it," she snarled, as I peeked around her.  The door was to a bathroom, and I walked in.  Michael followed.

I leaned against the counter and watched him close and lock the door.  It wasn't a large bathroom, and he turned and took half a step and was even with me.  "Want to tell me more about how much you hate me?" he asked, running one finger across my exposed collarbone and staring blatantly at my cleavage.  "I know it's your favorite foreplay."

"Shut the fuck up and kiss me, asshole," I replied, grabbing him by the belt and pulling him against me.

He laughed before pressing his lips hard against mine.  He only kissed me for a couple seconds before spinning me around so my back was to him.  Sandwiched between him and the counter, I couldn't do anything but gasp when he grabbed a handful of my hair, close to the scalp, and tilted my head to the side.  My gasp quickly turned to a whimper of pleasure when he kissed my exposed neck.  He slid his lips up to my ear and whispered, "Too hard?" while he loosened his grip on my hair just a little.  I shook my head the tiny bit that I could and I felt his lips curl into a grin against my neck.  He continued moving his lips and tongue up and down the side of my neck, torturing me until I was almost ready to take matters into my own hands.

He seemed to sense the moment I was about to get too frustrated and let go of my hair to unbutton my pants.  He pushed them and my underwear down to my knees and somehow managed to lose his pants too.  He moved one hand in front of me and pressed two fingers against me.  I moaned softly as he pushed his hips against mine, pushing me harder against his fingers.  I cried out as he suddenly thrust into me.  His other hand slapped quickly over my mouth.  "Quiet," he advised softly against my ear.  "Unless you want to be interrupted."  I shook my head frantically, moaning quietly against his hand. 

Thanks to Michael's skillful attention, I came twice in mere minutes before he groaned and leaned forward, shuddering against my back.  I wiggled my arms out from where they were trapped and placed my palms on the counter to steady us both. After about 30 seconds, he straightened and stepped away from me.

We both got ourselves together and left the bathroom.  I walked downstairs to find Kate, but I didn't see her.  I walked into the kitchen to get a drink, and as I was pouring, an unfamiliar voice said, "Lose your boyfriend?"

I turned and saw the blonde girl that had come out of the bathroom before Michael and I went in.  I snorted.  "He's not my boyfriend.  Actually, I can't fucking stand him."  She gave me a look that was somehow simultaneously skeptical and judgmental.  I shrugged.  "The sex just happens to be incredible."

Her look melted into a smile and she chuckled.  "Well in that case, good for you.  I'm Lauren."

"Kinsley," I replied.  "Where are you from?"

She rolled her eyes.  "Wisconsin.  Is it that obvious?  I've lived here for 3 years and I still get people asking me if I'm from Canada."

"Sorry," I apologized.  "It's not super obvious, but I can tell."

She shrugged.  "Oh well.  So, are you here with someone?  Besides that guy that you claim to not be able to stand?"

"My friend Kate.  She's friends with Kendra?  I don't know where she is," I said.

"Funny.  I'm here with Kendra.  Who is currently upstairs banging her boyfriend.  So I guess we both got ditched!"  She laughed.

"To be fair, I ditched Kate first," I responded, laughing with her.  Lauren and I talked for nearly 45 minutes while we waited for Kate and Kendra to reappear.  We had a ton in common and it didn't take long for us to exchange phone numbers and make plans to go shopping.

When Kate finally did make her way into the kitchen, she said she was ready to go.  I said goodbye to my new friend Lauren and we walked out.  We decided to walk back (probably not the best choice, but it happens) and were walking down the front walk to the sidewalk when someone called my name.

I turned and saw Michael.  Kate continued up to the sidewalk as I waited for him to approach me.  He stopped in front of me and just stared at me for several seconds.  Then he kissed me softly, tenderly.  Everything about it felt wrong, and I pulled away.  He smiled sadly at me and said, "If you ever decide you want something more than hate sex from me, call me."  I nodded, but we both knew I'd never call.