The House that I Grew up In

There really weren’t many things that Annabelle would have enjoyed doing less that evening, but Christy had begged her. So instead of spending the evening with Quinn, who was alone at his house as Forest had, in the end, been asked to work, she was sitting in Laura’s basement with a group of people who, aside from Josh and Christy, she did not want to be around.

Laura’s parents were coming home late that night after a benefit, so at least the party would end fairly early. But that didn’t stop Annabelle’s discomfort as The Girls gave her the cold shoulder, The Guys ignored her, Christy looked completely freaked out, Josh looked – well, unaware, and The Wiz kept looking over at her with a cocky grin.

That last point really wasn’t a help in any way, as Laura had been trying to keep his attention all evening, and seemed to be blaming Annabelle that he wasn’t showing much interest. “I can’t believe The Wiz is here, in my house,” Laura had gushed to Christy, ignoring that Annabelle was standing there, when they first arrived. “I had the hots for him so bad my freshman year. He is SO mine tonight!”

So, for the last hour, Annabelle would glance over to the corner of the basement where beer bottles were splayed on a table, both empty and full, and watch Laura practically throwing herself at The Wiz. And, although she had promised – to both him and herself – that she would try to give The Wiz the benefit of the doubt, his constant staring was making her uncomfortable.

“You doing ok over here?” Christy joined Annabelle, who was sitting alone in a corner drinking a soda. “I’m sorry I’ve been ignoring you. I just didn’t want to leave Josh…”

Looking with concern at her friend, Annabelle noted that Christy seemed both sincere and still agitated. “I’m fine,” she told the girl. “I just… I’m not sure why you wanted me to come. All your friends are here, and Josh…” She trailed off, silently begging Christy to explain.

Looking down at the beer in her hands, Christy wouldn’t meet Annabelle’s eyes. “I just… I didn’t want to be left alone with… these people. Besides Josh,” her voice lowered, and her eyes stayed down. “You’re the only one I really like being around. But I know it’s unfair not to explain to you…”

As much as Annabelle wanted to push Christy to continue, it wasn’t in her nature. Her friend would tell her what she needed to tell her in her own time. “I’m always here for you, if you want to talk,” she told Christy, patting her hand.

“I know that,” Christy nodded, and looked up at Annabelle with shiny blue eyes. Immediately, though, her face changed again as her eyes scanned the room. “Where’s Laura?” she sounded a bit panicked. “Where’s The Wiz?”

Looking to the corner that the two had been standing a few minutes earlier, Annabelle shrugged. “I didn’t see where they went,” she replied, and watched in surprise as Christy jumped up.

“We need to find Laura,” Christy’s voice was tight with concern.

“Ok,” Annabelle stood beside Christy, not asking any questions about her friend's concern or where it came from. “Well, are there any rooms down here, or should we check upstairs or outside?”

Looking around, Christy headed towards the hall. “The bathroom is down here,” she didn’t look back as Annabelle followed her in confusion. The door was closed as the girls arrived outside it, and muffled voices could be heard from inside. Knocking on the door, Christy’s voice rose. “Laura, are you in there?”

“Use the bathroom upstairs,” Laura’s voice was a bit breathless.

“Are you ok in there?” Christy stared at the door with concern.

There was silence for a moment, and although she didn’t know what was going on with Christy, even Annabelle felt a bit nervous. Suddenly, both girls heard Laura’s voice, low and throaty.

“Oh yes, Wiz,” she groaned through the door. “Right there. Harder!”

As Annabelle turned pink with blush as she figured out what was going on on the other side of the door, Christy instead turned white. “Do you think she’s okay?” the blond whispered.

“Fuck me! Like that, yes!”

Annabelle’s eyes grew wide, and she tried to stifle a laugh. “I think she’s fine,” she whispered back to Christy.
Immediately, the color rushed back to Christy’s face and she even let out a small giggle. “Yeah, I guess she’s fine,” she chuckled. “Let’s go back in the other room.”

After that, Christy seemed much more content. She dragged Annabelle over to talk to Josh, who always seemed pleased to talk to his girlfriend’s friend, and Sasha and Sam, who were obviously less pleased but just ignored her.

Aside from Annabelle and Josh, who was driving that night, everyone else in the room seemed to be getting quickly plastered. Annabelle saw The Wiz come from the hallway a few minutes later, looking as calm and cool as ever, and Laura following him a moment later, her hair a bit messy and her face flushed, but with a look of self-satisfied pleasure. She looked straight at Annabelle and smirked at her, as if she was trying to convey victory.

Several people in the room were smoking, and with limited ventilation, the basement soon filled with smoke that burned Annabelle’s eyes and throat. “I need some fresh air,” she whispered to Christy, who seemed a bit drunk now but more content than she had seen her in some time. “I’ll be right back.”

“Take this,” Josh reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple crumpled twenties and handed them to Annabelle. “I ordered pizza a while ago, and the guy should be here any minute. If he comes while you’re out there, would you mind…?”

Smiling at the only person in the room who she genuinely liked besides Christy, Annabelle took the money and nodded. “Can’t let you starve,” she teased Josh and smirked at his large form. “You look like you’re withering away as it is.”

Going outside into the warm summer night, Annabelle took a deep breath of fresh air and felt much better. She had no idea why what… had happened in the bathroom earlier that night seemed to put Christy in a better mood, but she was just glad her friend seemed to not be faking her mood change, for once.

“There you are,” a low voice came from behind Annabelle. “I was looking all over for you.”

Rolling her eyes, Annabelle turned around. “Where?” she asked The Wiz, who was standing a few feet from her, leaning against the fence. “In the bathroom?”

Without even the slightest look of embarrassment, The Wiz shrugged. “I figured, if you’re already taken,” a slow smile spread across his face. “I might as well enjoy… spending time with other girls.”

No matter how hard she tried, something about The Wiz made Annabelle uneasy. She tried to figure it out, and decided it had to be his utter confidence. It wasn’t the immature adolescent confidence that Josh had based on his looks, popularity and athletic skills, or the tough fake confidence Quinn had showed her when they first met that was hiding a deep seated pain. There was something decidedly discomforting with the look in The Wiz’s eyes.

“I noticed you’re not drinking,” The Wiz tilted his head, changing the subject from his tryst with Laura a few minutes earlier. “Is that a normal thing? Cause that good-girl thing? It’s hot in its own way.”

Unconsciously taking a step back from The Wiz, Annabelle’s face grew stone cold. “I agreed to try to be your friend,” her words were slow and serious. “If you respected the fact that I have a boyfriend. Calling me hot is not acceptable.”

Not looking discomfited at all, The Wiz shrugged. “Hey, you’re right. I’m sorry,” he replied, not really sounding remorseful at all. “Listen, I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright. Look, I even brought you a soda. We cool?”

Taking the bottle of Coke from The Wiz, Annabelle looked unsurely at him. “I guess so,” she said, hating how distrustful she felt. Twisting the top off of the bottle, she looked him in the eye. “But, in the future, I really need for you to not say things like that to me if you want to be my friend.”

“Why would he want to be your friend?” a female voice came from behind The Wiz, and Annabelle looked over to see a furious-looking Laura. “And what is with you? First Sam, now The Wiz? Are you screwing Josh when Christine’s not looking, too?”

Laura’s words were slurred, and as she took a step forward, she nearly lost her balance. Annabelle knew the girl was very drunk, and she had no intention of arguing with her. “Laura, you just got the completely wrong idea-” she said, but was cut short as Laura knocked the soda bottle from her hands and stepped close.

“Don’t tell me what idea I got!” Laura screeched, and Annabelle cringed at the sound. “This is MY house! And you don’t belong here!” Fueled by alcohol, the girl’s eyes filled with tears and her voice only rose. “Get out!”

“She’s already outside,” The Wiz’s chuckle rang out, and Annabelle threw him a nasty look. Laura, as unpleasant as she had always been to Annabelle, was obviously distraught. Mocking her was not going to help.

Luckily, the decibel of Laura’s voice had caught the attention of a few of the people inside, and Christy hurried out, with Josh at her side. “What’s going on?” she looked with fear and confusion between Annabelle and Laura.

“I’ll tell you what happened,” tears were streaming down Laura’s blotchy cheeks. “Your jungle freak friend here was trying to come on to The Wiz ten minutes after I fucked him!”

Before Annabelle even got a chance to open her mouth in explanation, she heard a male voice behind her. “Someone ordered a pizza?” Whirling around, Annabelle had never been so glad to see Forest since she’d met him. “Annabelle, everything ok?”

Letting out a sigh and giving Forest a grin, Annabelle nodded. “As long as you can drop me off home on the way to your next delivery,” she took the pizza boxes from him and shoved the cash Josh had given her into his hand. “Then everything is fine.”

Not looking bothered at all, Forest’s eyebrows shot up in amusement. “No problem,” he smirked at her, letting her know she would have to explain this to him on the car trip back. “I’ll meet you out front.”

When Annabelle turned back to the small group on the lawn, she saw that Laura was now weeping into Christy’s arms. Handing the pizza over to a sheepish-looking Josh, she looked Christy in the eye. Motioning towards where Forest had just been standing, she saw Christy nod and mouth an apology, which Annabelle just shook her head at. She waited a moment, watching Christy lead Laura back into the basement, and then turned to Josh. “Sorry I get so out of hand at parties,” she finally said.

Josh laughed, looking much more relaxed. “Thanks for not getting pissed off,” he replied, admiration in his eyes. “Laura gets like this at half the parties. I’m really glad Christine has a normal friend.” With that, he turned and followed where his girlfriend had walked a few minutes earlier.

“You really have to go?” The Wiz looked at Annabelle, his face blank.

Crinkling her eyebrows together, Annabelle just stared at him in shock for a moment. “After that?” she said incredulously. “Yes, I do. And obviously the fates agreed, which is why my boyfriend’s best friend showed up in the middle of all of that.” She turned, filled with annoyance, to walk towards the driveway where Forest was waiting. “And try not to mess with anyone else tonight, will you?” she said, hearing the unintentional contempt in her voice but unable to hide it.

“See you soon, friend!” The Wiz called out, making Annabelle wince at the word and his callous demeanor. She trudged towards Forest’s car, not looking forward to explaining this to him – although she was sure he’d find it hilarious – but glad that she would now get to spend the rest of the evening with Quinn.

-----

Quinn didn’t find the story nearly as funny as Forest had. “So who is this guy?” he asked suspiciously. “The one that caused all the problems?”

Although Annabelle had edited the story to the most basic points for both Forest and Quinn – Laura got drunk, got the wrong idea about Annabelle’s intentions, and threw a fit – Annabelle knew Quinn would pick up on the part about The Wiz. “He’s just some guy Josh is friends with,” she curled closer to Quinn on his bed. As he had not been expecting her that evening, she had found him in his room a few minutes earlier, iPod on, laying on the bed. “And he and Laura… well, you know, earlier in the night.”

His brows pressing close together, Quinn didn’t look convinced. “But why would Laura think that you were hitting on him?” he asked, distrust in his voice but obviously not aimed at Annabelle, whose hair he was stroking tenderly. “I know that you aren’t a flirt. You don’t even know how,” he smirked a little, but immediately went back to frowning. “It just makes me think this guy must have been doing something to make Laura think…”

Sighing, Annabelle sat up. She didn’t want to make Quinn unhappy or jealous over a person that she didn’t even like being around, but she wasn’t going to lie to him. “He’s just the type of guy who hits on any girl around him,” she told him as he sat up beside her. “But I’m not a pushover, as you know, and he didn’t try anything.”

Giving her a grimace, Quinn shook his head. “I don’t like it.”

Turning suddenly towards him, a thought hit Annabelle and she grinned slowly. “And what do you mean I don’t know how to flirt?” she asked, giving him a mock look of reprimand. “I can flirt! I flirt with you all the time.”

Suddenly brought out of his bad mood, Quinn smirked and took one of her hands. “Annabelle, you are completely beautiful, and sexy, and smart, and sweet,” he reached up with his other hand to cradle her face gently. “But you could not flirt to save your life.”

With a look of outrage on her face, Annabelle’s mouth opened in shock. “Is that so?” she asked, turning closer to Quinn. “Maybe I don’t know what your definition of flirting is. Is this flirting?” she asked, running her hand over his chest seductively. “Or this?” she turned her face slightly towards the hand he had cupping her cheek. She kissed his palm before taking his hand in hers and leading the fingertips to her mouth, grazing her lips over them and looking up at him through her lashes.

“I don’t know if that’s considered flirting,” Quinn’s voice was throaty and raw as his suddenly slid into the silky hair at the nape of her neck. “But it is definitely something that’s going to get you in trouble.” With that, his mouth descended upon hers, and Annabelle let out a small moan as she began to kiss him back.

Quinn had drawn Annabelle into his lap and was holding her close to him. His mouth was warm as he dragged his teeth over her bottom lip. Annabelle had wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and her thighs were around his hips. She forgot all about the earlier part of the evening as she opened her mouth a little and felt Quinn’s tongue slide against hers.

Without realizing, Quinn had slid down the bed a bit as their kiss intensified, and Annabelle now sat astride him, her mouth still locked to his. She tasted so sweet, a touch of soda still left on her tongue, and her skin felt silken under his fingers as he slipped his hands under her shirt in the back. They both knew Karen wasn’t due home for a few hours, and they both obviously planned to take advantage of that fact.

Quinn slid Annabelle’s shirt over her head, and watched as she unclasped and removed her bra. She then reached down and pulled at his shirt, giggling as they struggled a bit to get it over his head. Her face turned serious, though, as she leaned back down to kiss him, pressing her chest against his.

Feeling Quinn this close was amazing for Annabelle. His hands were so gentle as they slid over the muscles in her back and shoulders. He kissed her deeply, and then moved his mouth to her throat, his tongue tracing wet trails over a spot below her ear that made her feel stirrings low in her body.

Together, Quinn and Annabelle removed the rest of their clothing and climbed below the blankets. With a bit of nervousness but more curiosity, Annabelle moved back on top of Quinn. She kissed him softly as she pressed her hips against his, causing his breathing to increase. His hands ran down her back and ass, over her thighs and back up. She leaned down a bit to kiss small circles around his chest and then run her tongue over his nipple, making his back arch a bit.

“Top drawer?” Annabelle asked in a hoarse voice, and Quinn could just nod in response. He watched as she reached over, found a condom and sat up. She had a determined look on her face as she opened the packet and removed the rubber. Biting her lip in a look of concentration that was adorable to him, she rolled it on him and then moved to kiss him again.

“Here,” Quinn reached between them as he felt Annabelle’s hips start to shift. He looked her in the eyes and gave her a small smile, putting one hand on her hip. “Here I am,” he whispered, using his other hand to lead himself to her. “Just press down now.”
Smiling, Annabelle nodded and closed her eyes. She reveled in the feeling of sinking onto Quinn, feeling his body fill her and hearing him catch his breath. She moved slowly, trying to control any discomfort, but there wasn’t much. As she moved all the way onto him, she found his mouth again and kissed him. “I love you,” she whispered against his lips.

“I love you, too,” Quinn replied, his voice dripping with emotion. “So much.”

At that, Annabelle opened her eyes and began moving above him. She wasn’t really sure what she was doing, and was a bit embarrassed about that for a moment until she felt Quinn begin leading her with the hand he held on her hip. He had a small smile on his face, looking like he was truly enjoying this, and his eyes were shining. Annabelle watched him closely as she began figuring out the rhythm of the movements, but soon she had to close her eyes again to focus on the feelings in her own body.

Although it still felt strange to have Quinn inside her, the feelings were also incredibly pleasant. She felt his hands touching her, exploring her body affectionately, but the true pleasure now came from the feelings inside her. She kissed Quinn’s shoulder, nibbling gently, as she increased her speed and, in turn, the feelings of warmth within her. She could feel Quinn’s heart beating against her own chest, could feel heat where he touched her skin, but she was beginning to also feel a delicious tingling she had only felt once before between her legs.

There was something indescribable about watching Annabelle riding him, seeing her eyes tighten with concentration and feeling her body around him each time Quinn thrust up into her. He was breaking out into a light sweat from the pure exhilaration of the feeling, but he loved even more watching her enjoy taking control of the moment – controlling both their ecstasies. As he felt Annabelle’s thighs start to tighten, he took her hips into his hands and began almost rolling her over him as he thrust up faster.

Annabelle’s heart was beating fast as she opened her eyes to see Quinn watching her. The way he was guiding her to move felt incredible, and she needed to kiss him. Her mouth pressed against him with desire, and her fingers dug into his hair. She was moving on him fast now, and could feel him pressing hard into her. “Oh Quinn,” she finally called out in a tiny voice as she descended on him and at once felt a small explosion from deep within.

Quinn didn’t stop moving, and knew that Annabelle’s orgasm was continuing in waves as she held her breath, her body rigid. He tried to hold on, but her muscles were so tight around him. He let out a moan, and felt himself go as he rose a few last times inside her. She then completely collapsed on top of him, and he wrapped her arms around her, not wanting to break the closeness of the moment yet.

Neither person moved at first, which allowed the spinning in Annabelle’s mind to slow down. She lifted her head from the pillow just enough to run her lips over the curve of Quinn’s ear. “That was wonderful,” she whispered softly.

Turning his head until he could meet her eyes, Quinn gave Annabelle a lazy smile. “It was,” he agreed. “But you were still wrong.”

“About what?” Annabelle asked in confusion.



“You can definitely drive me wild,” Quinn grinned at her. “But you can’t flirt.”

Bursting into giggles, Annabelle tucked her head into Quinn’s shoulder as she moved off him. Curling up beside him, she said a silent word of thanks to Laura for her freak out earlier that night. After all, if not for that, she wouldn’t have gotten to spend tonight with Quinn.

-----

When Annabelle got back to Christy’s house half an hour later, she found her friend watching TV in her room. “Everything ok after I left?” she asked as she entered the girl’s bedroom, quietly closing the door behind her.

Giving an apologetic smile, Christy shrugged. “I got Laura to wash her face and lay down,” she said. “She passed out two minutes later. She’s going to be really embarrassed tomorrow, but Josh and I cleaned up the house before we left, so at least she won’t get in trouble with her parents.”

“That’s good,” Annabelle grinned, still feeling warm from her evening with Quinn. “And you and Josh are doing good?”

Nodding, Christy bit her lip and studied Annabelle for a moment. “Can I ask… what that was all about, with Laura? I mean, I know what she was yelling, but… what did actually happen, that she got the wrong idea about?”

Rolling her eyes, Annabelle sat on the bed beside Christy. “The Wiz was sort of hitting on me,” she said, and saw her friend’s eyes grow wide. “It’s not a big deal; I told him to back off. Laura was just drunk and thought something that wasn’t true at all.”

Despite Annabelle’s calm, Christy still looked bothered. “Just… just don’t trust The Wiz,” she said slowly, not meeting Annabelle’s eyes anymore. “He’s not a good guy.”

Although Annabelle got that, both from the way he had treated Laura earlier and also just from an innate feeling she had, she had a feeling Christy was talking about more. “What do you mean?” she asked gently.

Biting her lip, Christy stared at the muted television screen for a moment. “Nothing,” she finally sighed, her shoulders slumping. “It was just awful that he hit on you, like, a minute after he slept with Laura. That’s all.”

That wasn’t all; Annabelle could tell. But that mask of resolve quickly took over Christy’s face again, and she smiled a wide grin, meeting Annabelle’s eyes. “So, anyway, you have fun with Quinn once you got back here?”

If Annabelle could scream without waking Christy’s parents, she would have. Obviously, something very real was bothering her friend – and it was almost surely something to do with The Wiz, Annabelle knew. But as long as Christy refused to tell put on this charade, there was nothing Annabelle could do but wait and hope her friend would eventually trust her with the truth.

-----

MANY THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS AND FRIENDLY WORDS FROM JOEE, GIRLFIXER AND HJ. I'M GLAD TO BE BACK! CU-KID, THANKS FOR THE REVIEW, AND KEEP THOSE FINGERS CROSSED :) AND NESL247, THANKS AGAIN FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT!