Chapter 5: Chapter Five

Friday nights at Sand Dune were loud, chaotic, and busy as hell, just the way Karla preferred it. It kept things interesting and moving right along to quitting time. It was also the best night for tips, so she always wore her lowest cut top and tightest blue jean shorts, the ones that revealed just a hint of her ass cheeks. Whether she leaned over the bar talking to someone or bent behind the counter for a glass, she always gave a tease of what there was a chance of later. The sad part, she thought, was that she had not allowed anyone to plunder her treasures, since Brad the other night, thanks to Mitch Greenway getting into her head. She acted like it mattered whether he would be upset or not and that was always a rocky path that never ended well for anyone, especially the men who fell in love with her. Relationships were for other people, not her. That was a lesson she learned as far back as high school.

She laid in her bed staring at the ceiling. Life is totally unfair. So is my dad, Karla thought. They just don’t understand how important this party is. Everyone is going to be there. Everyone but me, that is. My life is ruined.

Karla continued to lay there, pouting, mumbling to herself, fantasies of the party she was missing nagged at her, making her mood even worse. Of course, Aimee didn’t even care. When their father told them they weren’t allowed to go, she just shrugged and bounced to her room and her books. Karla, on the other hand, threw the fit to end all fits, which is why she was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. She sighed, hitting the bed with her fist. This sucks!

Her mother checked in on her before going to bed herself, reminding Karla that her father was only trying to protect her. There was a big difference between freshmen and seniors, and she needed to be older before going to a party where decisions weren’t always made that should be made. Karla just rolled her eyes as she turned over in her bed. Her mother patted Karla’s shoulder before leaving her alone to wallow. Lights turned out in the house, and Karla could hear her family going to bed. Well, her parents anyway. Knowing Aimee, she was probably under the covers with a flashlight reading a book the size of a cement block. And Karla. There was no way she could sleep. She was too pissed off.

A knock came at her window. At first, she ignored it, believing the wind blew the branches of the hibiscus outside her bedroom against the glass. Then it came again. Karla glanced at her window. Who? She jerked the covers to the side and slid out of bed, making her way to her bedroom window. Peeking out the side of the curtain, she noticed Reed Mackabee, the senior she crushed on since school started, standing there between her window and the hibiscus bush. He rapped on her window again.

Karla glanced at her bedroom door, making sure no one heard him, and then yanked the bedroom curtains open and shoved the window upward. A grin spread across her cheeks and any chance of playing it cool was, well, out the window the moment she saw Reed standing there. He was one of the most popular boys in school and he was at HER window. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

His smile made her heart beat faster. “I could ask you the same thing. There’s a party going on, so why are you here?”

She felt her shoulders slump, her smile gone. “My father said we couldn’t go.”

Reed looked around her at the empty room. “Doesn’t look like anyone would notice if you came out this way. C’mon. I’m sure most of the partiers have drunk themselves silly by now, but there’s still plenty of night left.”

She glanced back at her closed bedroom door, debating whether she dared do what Reed said or not. Her parents were in bed, and they rarely left their room once they were there. The chances of them ever discovering she snuck out were slim. She turned back to Reed with a bounce in her step. “Let me get dressed and I’ll be right out.”

He tapped the window frame with the palm of his hand. “Great. I parked in front of your neighbors so your parents wouldn’t hear my car.”

She slipped out of her shorts—never having changed for bed—and into a short sundress, grabbing her sandals as she headed for the window. With one last look at her bedroom door, she took a deep breath of determination, popped the screen out of her window, and climbed out. She raced to Reed’s car as he opened the passenger door from the inside. He just grinned at her as he slipped the car in drive and pulled away.

The drive to his house was filled with idle conversation—how was she liking school, was she making new friends, did she like her teachers. She answered, giggling sometimes, still ecstatic that she was alone with Reed Mackabee, and he was taking her to a party. While they talked at school, she never knew that he was truly interested in her. Her friends were going to be so jealous.

When they pulled up to the house, however, it was quite apparent the party was over. There were no cars, no music, and the lights were dimmed in most of the house. “I guess we arrived too late,” she said, as she glanced at the dark exterior of the house.

Reed just smiled. “This is a private party.” He opened his door, his smile plastered on his face. “C’mon.”

Her stomach did a flip as she realized she was truly alone with Reed. He wanted to spend time with just her. She felt her nerves twist into anxious knots as she opened her car door and slid out into the cool evening. She couldn’t believe her fortune. Reed Mackabee wanted her.

When they entered the house, however, there was another boy sitting on the couch sipping a beer. Pat Jacobs glanced up at them, a leer on his face as he nodded at his friend. Karla felt her heart drop as she realized they weren’t alone, but she put on a smile, determined not to make too much of it. Reed still came to her house to get her. That was something.

“I told you I could get her here,” Reed said to his friend as he snatched a beer off the coffee table.

Pat looked Karla up and down, giving a nod of approval. “That you did. But will she follow through?”

Follow through?

“Of course she will. Karla loves to have fun. Don’t you, Karla?” Reed stared at her, his slick smile daring her to say anything different.

She suddenly wished she had stayed in her bedroom. Yet, she was here now. She wasn’t going to look like a child in front of these seniors, especially Reed Mackabee. “Who doesn’t like to have fun?” Her voice shook a little as she said it and she scolded herself for being a nervous baby.

“See?” Reed said, turning to his friend.

Pat patted the empty spot on the couch beside him, calling Karla to him. She eased her way over to him, unsure of exactly what was happening. As she sat, he ran his hand over the back of her neck, rubbing it tenderly.

“I’ll give you two some privacy,” Reed said, taking another sip of his beer as he headed for the other room.

Panic seized Karla. “Wait. I thought I was going to hang out with you tonight.”

Pat never took his hand from her neck, keeping her from pulling away. “Nah,” he said. “Reed brought you here for me. He knew I needed some attention and we heard you were pretty good at it.”

“You two have fun now,” Reed said, giving his friend a wink before disappearing.

Karla didn’t know what to do. Reed, the most popular boy in school, came to her house, picked her up, and brought her over to his friend’s house because they wanted her to satisfy Pat. She should run, but then, what would that do for her standing in school. She’d be seen as the tease and a child. She didn’t want that. Maybe, if she got Pat off, Reed would come back, and she could then be with him.

Pat leaned forward, setting his beer on the table. As he settled back, he unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. Lifting slightly, he slid his pants and underwear down to his ankles and then settled back on the couch. “Well?” He placed his hand back on her neck and eased her head down to his crotch. “I’ve been waiting for you all night.”

Karla closed her eyes. She could do this. This is what the older girls did for their men and if she did this, then Reed would see her as mature enough to be with him. She gripped Pat’s flaccid cock, stroking it slowly. She could do this. This was for Reed, and she was not going to disappoint him. She heard Pat moan softly as she took his cock into her mouth, running her tongue around the head. She could do this.

Reed never saw her as girlfriend material, only as someone he could screw when his girlfriend had a “headache.” It was the first lesson that taught Karla men were assholes and she was a commodity they merely wanted to trade. Reed passed it around she was an easy lay and soon boys wanted to take her out, but none wanted to go out with her. It didn’t take her long to discover she could control that and turn the tables on the male population. With the promise of a hand job or blow job, she could coast through school, and she did. Sometimes with the older boys, sometimes the underclassmen, and other times even with teachers. She made sure she always looked amazing, her body tight and toned, tanned and exposed. Men eyed her, even if they were with their wives. Sex was a currency, Karla discovered, and she spent it freely, collecting whatever she desired.

That’s how it all started with Mitch Greenway. Aimee needed her car fixed and Karla hated paying full price. It was supposed to be a little quid pro quo, her body for whatever Aimee’s car needed. Of course, her sister never saw things the way Karla did and refused to allow Karla to barter for Mitch’s services, making her own deal with Mitch behind Karla’s back, which required him to charge her full price. I’ll go out with you as long as you charge me full price for your services. Karla shook her head. Aimee just did not understand how the world worked.

It didn’t matter, however. Mitch never had a chance with Aimee as long she was hung up on their neighbor, Clint Asher. And Aimee was more than hung up. She was obsessed with the man. Mitch didn’t seem to care, and now spent his days driving Karla crazy with his determination to make her see life differently. He was a controlling, arrogant, stubborn…

Karla stopped wiping the counter as she stared out at the dance floor at the couples swaying to an ancient Lionel Richie song. Mitch Greenway was all those things and so much more. So why was she finding it hard to shake him from her thoughts? He was persistent.

And patient.

And smug.

And she couldn’t stop thinking about him. This never went well for her. She just could not commit to any one man. She was too spontaneous. She liked variety. She liked being in control. She liked sex and the attention it brought her.

Mitch wanted control, wanted to control her, and there was no way she would allow that. Not now, not ever. No one controlled Karla Harper. She allowed that to happen to her in high school and vowed never to allow it again. No. She would always hold the reins of any relationship, even the one-nighters. Men only thought they were in control, but everyone knew the one with the pussy ruled the relationship.

Everyone knew it, that is, except Mitch Greenway.

“You awake?” Paul asked as he slid around her, reaching for a bottle of rum.

“Hmm?” Karla turned to him, and then realized she had been so lost in her thoughts she forgot she was even at work. “Oh. Sorry. My mind got stuck on the past and I was trying to shake it.” As she stared at the owner of Sand Dune, Karla realized Paul would be just like Reed. While he wanted to bed her, he had no intention of taking her home to meet his mother. All he wanted was to crawl between her legs once in a while, and she let him, especially when there was no one better around. It was one of the reasons she managed to get the job at Sand Dune. While they were laying there after spending an hour grinding against each other, she convinced him he needed her to help out at the bar, to sashay her assets around and make the male patrons keep coming back. It wasn’t the first time she was hired while in bed. Or, as in this case, on the desk in an office. It was a hell of an interview process.

“Ah, well, that guy over there needs a refill, and I need to head back to the stock room. I’ll be right back. Sean’s wiping down the tables outside.”

She nodded as she turned to see what the man was drinking, surprised she hadn’t noticed the other bartender disappearing on her. She didn’t dwell on it long though, her thoughts immediately returning to the predicament in which she was wallowing. It was true she did it to herself. She gave in to Reed and Pat that night and that set the course for her life, it seemed. Every relationship since then was an exercise in self-destruction for her, and when they blew up, they were explosive as hell. Of course, most started that way as well, which is why she knew this tryst with Mitch, while he may want more, was never going to go anywhere. She just didn’t trust men. Besides, she wanted what she wanted when she wanted it. She didn’t need to worry about some boyfriend and his feelings when he found out she gave some guy a blow job in the backseat of a car.

So why couldn’t she get Mitch out of her head? Why not just cut it loose and spare everyone’s feelings? God, she wished she knew.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mitch sipped his coffee as he sat on the balcony of his apartment, overlooking the woods that lined the back of the property. The evening was cool, a slight breeze coming through the trees, rustling the branches. He loved the sound the wind made pushing through the leaves. He was tempted to pop into Sand Dune to shake Karla up a bit but decided against it. He made her antsy enough Wednesday morning. Then there was last night. He was beyond ecstatic when she appeared at Charlie’s. He was getting under her skin, and he knew it was driving her crazy. He liked her crazy.

He wasn’t sure what happened to her in the past to make her so against relationships, but he was determined to find out. The truth was, he was desperate to discover it. Karla was brazen and arrogant, cocksure of herself, since that first morning she appeared at his shop. While it was true that he asked Aimee out first, it was more because he didn’t want Karla to win. It was obvious she was a woman who was used to getting her own way. Well, he was a man used to getting his way, and he would be damned if he was going to permit Karla Harper to determine his course. She thought she could sashay her ass into his shop, and he would pant like a high school boy with a hard-on, giving her whatever she wanted. Obviously, she was used to her looks paving the way for her. Well, he was more than happy to throw up a roadblock, barring her from traveling further down that trail.

He smiled as he recalled how Karla showed up during his dinner date with her sister, doing everything she could to cause a scene. And she did cause one. He didn’t find it funny at the time, of course. Neither did Aimee. However, it showed how far Karla would go in order to win. He felt sorry for Brad that night. The poor guy did not have a clue as to what Karla dragged him into and he just stood there baffled. Yet, while Mitch was annoyed—okay, pissed off—at Karla for her little prank that night, it was also the first time he saw her as a challenge he needed to conquer. The trouble was that in trying to conquer the challenge, he found himself falling for her. He just didn’t want to prove he could get her to jump through his hoops; he wanted to find out why she hurt so much and then fix it. Karla Harper wasn’t just a mystery or a challenge. She was a loving, caring, pain in the ass, and he wanted to make her pain go away. He knew others told her the same thing and knew she would never believe him if he just told her he could handle her. He had to show her, to prove it to her, make her see that, yes, there was someone who could accept her for who she was, just as she was. Others told her they could handle her and then tried to change her into something they could handle. Karla didn’t need to change. No one needed to change for anyone else to love them. They needed to be accepted just as they are, for who they are. Karla needed that and he was determined to give it to her. He just needed to peel away the layers of pain and doubt she barricaded herself behind.

He could do it. He had the patience. The determination. The strength.

And she was worth it.

He had only known her for two weeks, but somehow, he knew she was worth the effort of getting into her dark side and showing her the light. He wasn’t sure what he would find, but he knew he could handle it. After all, he wasn’t exactly an angel himself. He could be just as dark as she could, and he was eager to see how their darkness fit together, like puzzle pieces.

He was eager to know what was inside Karla Harper.

He took another sip of his coffee, his mind percolating his next move in his quest to get inside Karla’s head. He had a feeling it was not going to be as easy as getting inside her pants.

That’s okay, he thought to himself. As they say, challenge accepted.