Common

If you have read any of my other stories, I want to say right up front that I am trying something new. I know this story will be shorter and darker than my other pieces. That’s why I’m posting it in the ‘erotica’ section. I am generally a romantic at heart, but this story idea has been kicking around in my head for quite some time. I know the storyline seems clichéd, but I hope to surprise readers along the way. Please let me know what you think – good or bad, I love to know how readers feel.

(And for those reading LADCT, I should post another chapter in the next day, hopefully. I just had this chapter of this story trapped in my head and had to get it out before I could write anything else.)

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“Maria is looking fine tonight,” Lou whistled low as he elbowed his cousin. He pointed to a small shapely girl on the dance floor, grinding against a few of her friends. “How long it been since you tapped that ass, Javi?”

Looking at Lou with disdain, Javier leaned against the bar and didn’t bother answering. Instead, he took a swig of his beer and scanned the crowd in the dark, cramped club.

“Fine,” Lou replied. “If you ain’t wantin’ her, I think I might make my move tonight.”

“Like you have a chance,” Javier replied. “Maria wouldn’t waste the time it took to spit on you, Lou.”

“What is wrong with you tonight?” Lou looked pissed off. “I mean, damn, cuz. You’ve been acting like an asshole since we got here.”

Never one to apologize, Javier didn’t reply. He knew Lou was right, though. Work had been hard all week, and he hadn’t liked the sound of his grandmother’s cough when he was leaving the apartment earlier that night. Aside from that, he hadn’t gotten laid in weeks. Which, for Javier Maldonado, was unheard of.

“What is that?” Lou interrupted Javier’s thoughts and pointed towards a woman who had just entered the bar. “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Even Javier had to raise his eyebrows when he saw her, although he wasn’t sure if he doing it because he was turned on or because he was amused.

There was no denying that the tall, willowy girl was beautiful. Her light brown hair fell halfway down her back, and golden highlights could be seen even in the darkened club. Her eyes shone bright blue as she looked around at the patrons with an expression somewhere between mystification and thrill.

“She should be scared, not excited,” Javier thought with a sneer. “In those clothes, she stands out, and this is not the sort of place a nice little white girl wants to stand out.” While most of the girls in the club wore short skirts or tight pants and high heels with low-cut or stomach-bearing tops, this girl looked like she walked out of a 1950s television show. A long flowered skirt came down to her ankles, and she wore a simple button-down white top. She might as well have been wearing a cop uniform, for all the dirty looks she was getting from other girls at the club.

“That dumb girl’s going to get her ass beat in ten minutes,” Javier said to Lou, although he was having a hard time keeping his eyes off her. Something about the way she carried herself – assured, a bit confused, eager – caused him to keep looking. “Maybe I’ll be a nice guy and offer to take her home before anything bad happens.”

“Damn, Javi,” Lou looked disappointed. “I saw her first, cuz.”

“What are you? Twelve?” Javier looked with disgust at his cousin. “Please, you couldn’t hit that tight-assed priss if you had money coming out of your ass. No, leave this one to a professional.” He could hear Lou grumbling under his breath as he passed him and started walking towards the girl, but he knew his cousin wouldn’t say anything to him. No one said anything to Javier in this club, or in this neighborhood, for that matter. This was Javier’s world; everyone else was just a visitor that could be thrown out at any time.

“Well, hello, princess,” Javier sidled up to her.

The girl looked startled to hear someone talking to her. “Oh, hello,” she blushed slightly when she looked at him, which turned on Javier even more. Between her little girl getup and her innocent blush, he guessed that fucking her would be different than fucking all the girls from the neighborhood that he had been fucking since he was thirteen.

“I’m Javi, and what’s your name?” Javier’s voice was condescending; he liked having the upper hand. He almost always did, and he certainly did now.

“I am Angeline,” the girl told him, looking a bit more confident now. She had a slight accent, although Javier couldn’t place it. “It’s nice to meet you, Javi.”

Looking her over as he took a swig of his beer, Javier couldn’t help but be attracted. The skin looked soft and flawless. Her lips were full, and he wondered how they would look after being swollen and bruised from hard kisses. On top of all that, she was giving off a scent – something mild and woodsy, fragrant but not overwhelming. The scent was enough to make Javier’s mouth water. “So, what are you doing in a place like this, princess?” he asked flat out.

With surprise evident on her face, Angeline looked around the room with confusion. “Here?” she didn’t understand the question. “I come here for the same reason as everyone else. This is a, what you call it, a dance establishment. I come to hear music, and watch people dance.”

Her lilting voice and that unplacable accent were quickly driving Javier wild. “No, I know that,” he told her, running his eyes over the curve of her neck and wondering briefly what her skin tasted like. “I meant, why are you here, in this club, in this neighborhood? This isn’t exactly the safest place for a girl like you.”

“A girl like me?” Angeline looked insulted. “You know nothing of me!”

“I know you’re dressed like Mary Poppins,” Javier shot back with a sneer. “And that you’re likely to get your ass beat – or worse – hanging around here. Why’d you come all the way over to this neighborhood just to go to a club?”

Angeline was looking down at her clothes for a moment, wondering how she had dressed wrong, before looking up to answer Javier’s question. “I didn’t travel to come here,” she told him. “I only live two blocks away.”

“No way,” Javier shook his head. “I know everyone in this neighborhood, princess, and you ain’t one of the crew.”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Angeline looked confused. “But I do live here. I moved in last week. This is my first apartment in America. Actually, it is my first apartment anywhere.”

“Let me get this straight,” Javier was somewhat amused with this story. “Some rich white girl from God knows where just up and decided to move to the worst neighborhood in Queens? Are you crazy or something?”

“I am not crazy,” Angeline stuck out her bottom lip slightly. “I wanted to live like regular people do. And I’m from Luxembourg, not that you were polite enough to ask.”

“Am I supposed to know where that is?” Javier looked at the strange girl. Something about her temper and her demeanor made his body ache for her. “Is that a city or a country or what?”

“Luxembourg happens to be one of the most prosperous and fastest growing nations in the European Union,” Angeline was indignant. “And it is also the name of the capitol city, where I grew up and where I lived my whole life up until I came here.”

“Okay, Princess,” Javier bit back a smile. “Settle down. I wasn’t dissin’ your land.” He could tell she had no idea what he had just said and smirked. “I wasn’t making fun of your country; I’ve just never heard of it.”

Shrugging, Angeline’s expression immediately softened. “Oh, I’m sorry if I seemed rude,” she told Javier. “I think it’s the pounding in here. Is the music always this loud?”

“Always,” Javier grinned.

“Well, I think it’s making my head hurt,” Angeline told Javier. “I would like to get out of here.”

Javier argued with himself for a moment, since he really didn’t want to leave the club to walk home this girl he had almost no chance of nailing, but his conscience got the better of him. He couldn’t send her out into that neighborhood late at night without anyone to protect her. She was lucky she wasn’t mugged or attacked on her way over. “I can walk you back to your place,” Javier finally grumbled. “Just to make sure you get there safe.”

“Well,” Angeline’s eyes grew a little bigger and she bit her lip nervously. “Maybe you would like to see my apartment? I am actually enjoying your company – it’s been lonely recently, being in a new place and knowing nobody. I would like it if you would come in and talk to me, staying a while.”

From any other girl in the club, an invitation back to their apartment would only mean one thing for Javier. With Angeline, though, Javier really didn’t have a clue. It was likely she just was naïve and inviting a stranger over for conversation. Of course, there seemed to be a little bit of a rebel underneath that innocent façade. Maybe she actually did know what she was doing.

“All right,” Javier gave Angeline a small sexy grin. “I’ll come over to your place. Let me just tell my boys my out, okay?”

“Okay,” Angeline smiled widely, obviously pleased that Javier was joining her. She watched as he moved through the crowd, people moving aside to let him by. It was clear he demanded a certain level of respect in that establishment. It was also clear, with his penetrating black eyes and tormenting smirk, that he was one of the sexiest men Angeline had ever met. She licked her lips unconsciously as she watched his shaved head moving amongst the bodies as he returned to her.

“Alright, let’s go,” Javier told Angeline, leading her out of the club.

-----

“I can’t believe he’s going home with her,” Lou said to Maria as they watched Javier leave with Angeline. “I would have bet money that girl woulda turned him down cold.”

With a sneer, Maria turned to Lou. “I knew she wouldn’t,” she said. “That was a stereotypical white girl wanting a ride on the wild side for one night. She’ll get to screw her vato tonight, and go back to her perfect little life tomorrow. Trash.”

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Angeline did live in the middle of the worst area of the neighborhood, in a run-down apartment building, where one of the neighboring apartments was known for being a place to score crack. As Javier followed her up the dirty stairwell, he shook his head in confusion. Who was this girl? What was her story? And why did she move here, of all places in the world?

“This is it,” Angeline unlocked the deadbolt and then the doorknob. She threw open the door and motioned for Javier to walk in. As soon as he entered, though, he froze. The apartment was… odd, to say the least.

While the apartment itself was like any other dump in the building, Angeline had furnished it with the finest items. A tan couch and matching chair were separated by a mahogany coffee table, all squished into the middle of the tiny living room. Framed paintings hung on the wall, regal and expensive looking. Oriental rugs had been thrown down to cover the dingy wood floor, and the bookshelves housed assorted vases, bowls and picture frames. The impressive nature of the décor made no sense in contrast to the shabbiness of the apartment itself.

“Is this an old boyfriend?” Javier asked, picking up a framed picture from the shelf. The photo was of Angeline, obviously a few years younger. The man looked to be in his late twenties, handsome and strong, in a full suit. He looked just like someone that Javier would expect a girl like Angeline to be with.

Glancing over Javier’s shoulder, Angeline began to laugh. “No, of course not,” she told him. “That is my father.”

Staring at the photo, Javier could barely believe it. “Listen, princess, my mom was fifteen when she had me, so I’m not usually one to judge. But you can’t be younger than eighteen in this photo, and this guy ain’t older than thirty.”

“I was seventeen,” Angeline took the picture from Javier’s hands and placed it back down. “It was just a few days before my mother’s death. That was my father’s fortieth birthday. He, how do you say it, ages gracefully, I guess.”

Shaking his head, Javier could hardly believe that the man in the picture was Angeline’s father. Then again, he thought to himself, I would never have thought that anyone that lived in this neighborhood, in an apartment like this, could make such a crappy place look so… elegant. Damn, he cursed himself. One hour, and this chick has me thinking the word ‘elegant’.

“Would you like something to drink?” Angeline asked from the kitchen, which was only about twelve steps from the immaculate living room. “I have water or wine. No beer, I’m afraid, although being from Luxembourg, that’s nearly a sin.”

Knowing he normally hated wine, Javier decided to give in. Asking for a glass, he settled himself on the couch. Fine, this girl had taken him by surprise. While she was beautiful without a doubt, she had none of the overt sexiness that usually lured him. Still, there was something about this girl… Plus, he never gave up the chance to bag a hot woman.

“So,” Angeline handed him his glass of wine and settled herself comfortably next to him on the couch. “Tell me about yourself. You were… is this the wrong word… boorish at the dance establishment.”

Taking a big sip of his wine to stop himself from laughing out loud, Javier grinned. “Yes, I guess I was ‘boorish’. If you plan to live in this neighborhood for long, princess, though, I would recommend that you start using words like ‘rude’ or better yet, ‘asshole’ or ‘dickhead’.”

“‘Dichead’,” Angeline repeated thoughtfully. “I’m not sure what you mean, precisely, but I think I like it.”

Despite himself, Javier had to chuckle. Damn, this girl was like no one he had ever met before. “Okay, princess-”

“Why do you keep calling me that?” Angeline tossed her hair over her shoulder while she tucked her feet below her. “All evening, since we’ve met, you’ve called me ‘princess’. I am no such thing. I am really just an ordinary person.”

Javier couldn’t help it. Angeline’s inquisitiveness, along with her straightforwardness, made him choke on his wine laughing. “Stop it,” he insisted, once he had caught his breath. “There’s no way you moved to Queens – this neighborhood in particular – and are this… innocent.”

“I’m not innocent,” Angeline immediately stated. “I am strong and independent. I came here because…” Suddenly, though, she faltered.

”You came here because…?” Javier pushed her to continue.

Taking a deep breath, Angeline pulled her legs from below her and planted her feet firmly on the floor. She put her wine glass down and rested her hands on her knees as she turned to face Javier with a serious expression. “I came here to be common.”

“Common?” Javier still had no idea what she was talking about.

With the imploring expression in her wide blue eyes, it was clear that Angeline was sincere in what she said. “I want to be a… a common person. You see, Luxembourg, it is a greatly prosperous nation. And my father… well, he is more than prosperous. I grew up in a very, how do you say it, decadent lifestyle. Very rich, very protected.”

“Yeah, you were spoiled,” Javier took no surprise to this announcement. “Big shock there. You reek of money.”

Giving him a look of contempt, Angeline shook her head in disgust. “See, you are just as closed-minded as my family. Thinking that because I was raised a certain way, I cannot wish to understand life as others live it.”

“Princess,” Javier leaned back into the couch and motioned around the room. “I CAN understand wanting to appreciate how other people live, but you ain’t gonna do it by living in a skeezy apartment in Queens for three months.”

“Who said I’ll be here for three months?” Angeline raised her chin confrontationally. “I turned twenty-one last month, making me completely free from the chains of my family. I moved to America, to New York – here, to Queens – because I want to know what life is like for people who haven’t had the privilege I’ve had.”

The drinks Javier had generously drunk during the evening, along with the attitude he was getting from this spoiled rich bitch, were more than he could handle. “Princess, you could live as long as you want in Queens, and you ain’t ever gonna know what it’s like not to be a immature brat.”

“You know nothing about me,” Angeline rose in indignation. “I was nice to you; I invited you to my home-”

“And that was your first mistake,” Javier rose and met her look. He was only a couple inches taller than her, but his muscular build made him seem larger. “See, in this neighborhood? Princess, you lucky I ain’t taking you right now, whether you like it or not. You’re lucky,” he looked her up and down arrogantly. “I don’t think you’re all that, or you’d be in a shit load of trouble. I’m the best and worst guy you’ll find in this place… and let’s just say, you wouldn’t last a minute with anyone else.”

Tears suddenly filled Angeline’s eyes, taking Javier by surprise. “Are you saying it was wrong of me to invite you in for conversation?” she asked. Suddenly, she looked so small and scared, Javier wanted to hold her.

“Sit down, princess,” Javier took a seat on the couch and patted the place next to him. Nervously, Angeline sat down. “Look, I don’t mean to sound like a dick, but you need to know the truth. Any guy besides me at that club… if you had invited them to ‘have a conversation’, they would have expected sex. And if you didn’t plan to deliver, well, then they would have taken what they thought they had been offered.”

For a moment, Angeline look flat out scared, but she quickly pulled herself together. “Are you saying you don’t think I want to have sex with you?”

Taken by surprise by the question, Javier forced himself not to smirk. “I’m saying, princess, that whether or not you want to, it wouldn’t have been your choice with any other guy. But if you’re offering…”

Suddenly, Angeline let out a short laugh. She couldn’t help it; Javier was much quicker than she originally assumed he would be. When she first saw him, of course, she found him attractive. But his mixture of toughness and sweetness was incredibly sexy. “I never said that I am offering…” Angeline told him, intentionally stopping herself from saying more.

Before he knew what he was doing, Javier had reached over to cradle Angeline’s face. “You know what you’re getting yourself into, princess?” he asked her, no joking in his expression. “Cause, you know, I’m a nicer guy than most, but you’re saying some shit that’s making me think-”

Without allowing him to even finish his sentence, Angeline closed her eyes and leaned forward. Her mouth met his, and she was pleased to note he kissed her with the same intensity she was feeling throughout her body. As their mouths pressed together, Angeline felt every warning she had ever been taught quickly leak out of her brain.

Angeline slid closer to Javier, letting him slide one hand around her waist while the other remained on her face. His lips were unexpectedly soft as they pressed against hers, and when his lips parted, his hot breath against her mouth was enough to cause Angeline to open her own mouth. Running her hands from his shoulders, over his neck, and up to the soft fuzz that ran over his shaved head, she quickly gave in to her desires.

Javier felt unexpected leisure as he kissed Angeline. Gone were the normal urges to undress her, reach between her thighs, take her as fast as possible and then get out of there. For some reason, this girl made Javier want to savor every moment. Accepting that, Javier took his time running the tip of his tongue over the complete exposure of Angeline’s lips; he traced each curve and every shape. Without trying, he could feel himself straining against his jeans.

As Javier felt Angeline’s tongue tentatively reach into his mouth, he met it with his own. She tasted sweet, sweeter than the wine they had been drinking. Their tongues danced together searchingly before Javier drew her bottom lip between his teeth gently, nibbling on it, wanting to devour her. As the kiss intensified, Javier was pleasantly surprised to feel Angeline become more forceful and let out a soft guttural moan from the back of her throat. If nothing else, the woman would drive him wild with her kisses.

Just as Javier was about to uncharacteristically pull back to check if Angeline was sure about what she wanted to do, he felt her hands wander from his head, down the side of his face, over his shoulder, to his chest. She even pulled her body closer to his, one leg sliding over his thigh, making Javier’s erection twitch in its confinement.

“Princess, you better know what you want,” Javier whispered against Angeline’s lips. “Because you are pushing things-”

“I know what I want,” Angeline said with passion, her hand immediately dropping to Javier’s other thigh and rubbing roughly. “I want you, Javi.”

Knowing that this was consent, plain and clear, Javier stopped allowing his conscience to put up any kind of fight. “Whatever you say, princess,” he grinned, immediately grabbing both Angeline’s wrists and pushing her down against the sofa, covering her body with his own. “As long as I’m sure this is what you want to do.”

“I do,” Angeline wanted to leave no room for questioning in her reply. “I want you to… how you say it… fuck me.”

“No problem,” Javier’s unparalleled sexual drive took over. “You want to be fucked by a hot poor Latino from Queens, then, baby, I ain’t got no problem being the one to oblige.”

Immediately, Javier dropped his mouth to Angeline’s throat, his lips caressing her pressure point as his hands still kept her pinned beneath him. As his lips parted once again, he allowed his tongue to tickle over the skin of her neck, while he was fully aware of her body squirming beneath his.

Angeline had moved to Queens in hopes of becoming ‘common’. She was so sick of being one to the rich, one of the lucky, one of the privileged. All she wanted was to see what life was like on the other side. And if the way Javier was making her feel by pulling the skin around her collarbone between his teeth was any example, than the rich in her country had been missing out for a long time.

Javier was still tracing his tongue over Angeline’s throat when he let one of her wrists go. His hand moved down slowly, massaging her shoulder, inching over her chest, until it finally rested on her breast. Although smaller than what he usually desired, Javier was pleasantly surprised with the way her small mound filled his hand. He pressed against her gently, reveling in the soft moans that were slowly escaping from her mouth. It was obvious Angeline had been with men before, but Javier was arrogantly sure that after tonight, she would consider him the best she had ever been with.