“OK.” He sighs like he’s satisfied with my story. I’m not sure how to take that, but he doesn’t give me much time to wonder about it, because he says, “Be at my house tomorrow after school, and be ready to make good on our deal.”
He starts to back away from me, but I grab his arm and hold him there. “I think we should start over, Mateo. If you really do like me, then let’s just start over and try this all again.”
His face screws up. “We’re not starting over, Shannon. I didn’t do all this fun shit just to wipe the slate clean and pretend it didn’t happen. You come to my house, you take your clothes off, you study at my kitchen table naked, you suck my dick, you take the test, and if you get one right, I’ll lick your pussy until you come. If you pass that test tomorrow, Shannon, I’ll fuck your brains out and you will forget all about starting over because what I will do to your body will be so addictive, you will never want me to stop. Do you understand?”
Why did I ever think he’d give in to me? Why did I ever think I had the power in this relationship? He mows me over like a steamroller.
“Do you. Under. Stand?”
“Got it,” I say.
“You know, there’s something to be said for the wisdom of experience. That’s a lesson you need to learn. Now eat your dinner and go to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I watch him as he turns and walks to the slider and pulls it open. But he stops again and looks me in the eyes. “And you’re coming to Hawaii with me. So just accept it. And let that fuck of a brother-in-law know you won’t be babysitting that week.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Triangles are your friend,” Mateo says the next day as I wait on his stoop at the back door. He’s standing on the other side of the screen, shirtless, and looking like a fucking monster of muscle and masculinity.
“Just let me in,” I say.
“They have all the answers, Shannon.”
“It’s fucking raining, Mateo. Just let me in.”
“And if you know certain things about your triangle, you can find out missing information.”
I sigh. “Got it. Let me in or I’m going home. I’m all fucking wet.”
“You know when triangles are not your friend?”
“Tell me.” I give up. He’s musing. I have come to the conclusion that Mateo is one of those deep people. People who think too fucking much. I’m not a thinker, I go on instincts. And right now, my instincts are begging me to just tell him what he wants to hear.
“When you’re in a relationship.”
“Are we in a relationship?” I roll my eyes.
“We are, and I don’t want to be part of a love triangle. I let that Danny Alexander thing drop because you needed help and he was there when I wasn’t. But I won’t make that mistake again. I got us two first-class tickets to Hawaii for spring break.”
“Fancy,” I say. I hate flying, especially over the ocean. It freaks me out and no amount of posh first-class bullshit will change that.
“You may come in.” He opens the screen door wide for me and I step past him.
“I hope you have a fucking dryer,” I say, peeling off my clothes. I’m getting fucked today. That’s all I’m saying. I’ve been studying that little unit-circle trick all damn day. I practiced it in art while I was messing around with Photoshop making graphics for my website. I practiced it in PE when I was walking my laps. I practiced it in every class today. I even recited the angles and the radians to myself on the way over here. I’m ready for that test and I am getting fucked.
I drop my clothes on the floor as I make my way to the kitchen and then stand there naked. “Where’s the test?”
“Sit,” he says, smiling like a fool.
“Mateo—”
“Sit,” he growls.
I sigh, but I sit.
“Today you’re going to learn how to memorize the trigonometric functions.”
“Oh, no, I’m not! Today I’m sucking your dick, taking a test, getting my pussy licked, and then you’re fucking me.”
He almost laughs. Almost. “No, you’re working first.”
“That was not the deal.”
“I make all the deals, Shannon.” He takes my little red textbook out of my backpack and opens it up to chapter two. “I’m surprised you haven’t figured that out yet. Now look here…”
An hour later I’m still looking at that damn book, and I’ve got those functions memorized using his newest trick, but I’m tired now. My eyes are drooping and I’m not even horny anymore. “You’re not as fun as you first appeared,” I say, yawning.