The call was unexpected, and even though he'd had plans to hit the rink with the boys, there was something in her voice that made Kendall long to stay behind. Though her tone had been unwavering, there was an underlying sense of desperation in her words, and despite her strong exterior, Kendall prided himself in his ability to read people, and he could tell there was something more to her, something buried deep beneath the surface.
She feared being alone.
The girl with the jet black hair that ran down her back, the rebellious streaks of bright red scattered throughout, had always intrigued Kendall. With her devil-may-care attitude, she was unlike any girl he'd ever laid eyes on. They didn't make them like her back in Minnesota, and most of the girls at the Palm Woods were too concerned with their appearance to ever dye their hair such an absurd color. They had agents to please and public images to uphold, all of those great things that came along with being a part of young Hollywood. But beneath all the designer clothes, the makeup, and the hairspray, all of those girls carried a world of insecurities on their shoulders, and that was what really drew him to Lucy: her confidence.
Though she was a successful musician with two full-length albums under her belt at only the age of eighteen, Lucy didn't get wrapped up in all the drama the industry had to offer. She held her own, and she hadn't allowed any of the stylists or marketing agents to alter who she was. When Lucy Stone walked into a room, she exuded nothing but confidence, and Kendall respected how she was completely and utterly comfortable with who she was as a human being. He envied that.
But even Lucy's life fell short of perfection.
On that particular night, Lucy had charmed one of her older guy friends into buying her liquor, and since she didn't want to drink alone in her apartment, she'd called Kendall.
"Because you're only an alcoholic if you drink alone. If you drink with someone else, you're a social drinker," she'd explained with a laugh over the phone.
He'd never admit it, but he jumped at the chance to spend time with Lucy, and that's how he ended outside her apartment, his hands thrust into the pockets of his jeans as he worked up the nerve to knock on the door.
He would've expected this sort of behavior from Logan or Carlos, but it wasn't like Kendall to get his nerves twisted and knotted over a girl, but Lucy Stone wasn't just any other girl. Even looking past her notoriety as a reckless rockstar, she was still intimidating. Her maturity and her independence set her apart and made Kendall feel like a joke around her. She was eighteen, she lived on her own, why would she want to hang around a boring guy like him?
There was only one way to find out.
After three knocks, he could hear her scurrying around the apartment, her footsteps growing louder as she approached the door.
"Hey," she greeted, flashing him a bright smile as she pulled open the door, stepping aside to let him in. "You should be proud of me, I didn't sneak any drinks before you came."
"Oh yeah," he mumbled, mustering up his most nonchalant smile. "I'm just glad you didn't start the party without me."
He couldn't deny the awkward tension between them as he took a seat on the couch, his hands folded in his lap as he waited for her to join him. They'd never really hung out alone before, just the two of them, but this realization hadn't seemed to dawn on Lucy, or if it had, it didn't bother her.
"Damn Kendall, you look like you need a drink," she teased as she reached for the bottle of brandy on the coffee table, pouring some into a styrofoam cup before handing it over to him. "So what are the other guys getting into? I kinda thought you'd bring them along."
Kendall stared intently at the dark liquid sloshing around in his grip. He'd only really been drunk once, but he wasn't about to disclose that fact to the gorgeous girl at his side. Back in Minnesota, after James's parents had gotten divorced, the boys had broken into Ms. Diamond's liquor cabinet and downed a decent amount of her expensive vodka, cleverly replacing the missing alcohol with water. It was a memorable night of male bonding, but Kendall hadn't been eager to drink again after the nausea and splitting migraine he came down with the morning after.
"They had other plans, but you sounded like you could use the company, so I dropped by anyway."
"Well, it's nice to know I have one friend." Her lips curved into a half-smile as she held her own cup to them before tilting her head back to chug its contents.
As he watched her, her crimson-painted toes digging into the carpet as the alcohol burned its way down her throat, Kendall noticed that he'd never seen her without her trademark leather combat boots. There was a certain vulnerability in the exposed milky white skin, and her vulnerability made him feel at peace as he sipped on his drink.
The brandy tasted sweet on his tongue, but the liquid warmed him from the inside out as it eased down his throat. It wasn't a terrible sensation, and he found himself guzzling down another cup more boldly as the two of them laughed along with the stand-up special on TV.
"So…" she began, her dark eyes falling to the floor as she continued. "I heard you just went through a pretty tough breakup."
"Yeah," Kendall replied with a slow nod, his jade green eyes focused on the empty cup in his fist. Though his memories of Jo still cut deep, wounds that had yet to heal, the alcohol had a way of lending him courage, and the expression imprinted on Lucy's features coaxed him into spilling it all. Those nasty details that he hadn't felt comfortable confessing to his friends seemed to tumble from his lips uncontrollably, and while it felt strange to have it all out in the open instead of locked away in his chest, it was also a relief. Unlike most people, Lucy didn't judge him. Her almond-shaped eyes held his stare as he spoke, hanging on every word. It was so rare that people truly listened instead of just waiting for their turn to speak, and Kendall was a little taken aback by her sincerity.
"Okay, enough about me," he said with a laugh as he leaned back into the couch cushion. "Please tell me how a girl like you is still single?"
Her laugh was punctuated by a soft snort as she tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. "Now, this may be hard to believe, but a lot of guys are intimidated by me, but I can't say that it bothers me. I don't mind being single."
"I'm sure you don't." Suggestion was heavy in his voice as he shot her a sidelong glance.
"It's true!" Her face was suddenly engulfed by an earnest smile while a look of disbelief played in her eyes. "Anyways, yeah," she continued as she gathered herself, her gaze drifting back to the television screen. "Guys don't exactly go for girls that don't need them. As much as you say you don't want a girl that's clingy, you guys seem to seek out those girls."
"Aw come on, don't be that way," Kendall scoffed as he batted her statement away with a flip. "Not all guys are like that."
"Sure." Lucy rolled her eyes; she had very expressive eyes. "You guys pretend to be annoyed by the fifty million text messages a day, but when it comes down to it, you really crave the attention. It's a power thing. You need to know that a girl's entire world is centered around you and you alone. You need to be the center of someone's universe."
"Eh, maybe you're right," he conceded with a shrug of his broad, hockey-sculpted shoulders. "Maybe you're in the wrong profession. You should really look into getting your own talk show or something."
She couldn't keep from cracking a grin. "Sounds like a good idea. Maybe when I'm old and washed up, I'll look into it."
Silence lapsed between them, flooded with expectancy.
"But seriously, Lucy, any guy would be lucky to have a girl like you. You're not like all the others. You're not fake."
Her voice was steady as she spoke, her words genuine. "Thank you, Kendall. You have no clue how much I appreciate that."
And those were the words that changed everything. While most girls' eyes would've flickered between his eyes and his lips, silently urging him to initiate the kiss, Lucy's syrupy stare bore into him as she leaned forward, her lips crashing into his as her fingers ran through the golden blonde hair at his temples.
Kendall had never been kissed like that, with such passion and intensity. Jo was always more demure, her kisses slow and tender, and even when they were behind closed doors, she kissed him in the same manner one would kiss their significant other in front of their friends or parents. It was something that had lingered at the back of his mind throughout their relationship, but he'd never let it bother him. That was just who Jo was, and he wouldn't have her any other way.
This encounter with Lucy was opening up his entire world. There was something about the way her hands sought out every inch of his chest, stroking his stomach as she silently begged him to remove the fabric, that made him feel desired. It was an emotion he'd never experienced with Jo. Though he knew without a doubt that she loved him, each of their intimate encounters had felt forced, like he was crossing too many of her boundaries against her will, and even though her lips urged him to continue, the way her body always seemed to tense up beneath his told him otherwise.
The sweet flavor of brandy clung to her lips, countered by the ferocity of her movements. A million thoughts ran rampant in Kendall Knight's mind, but after he'd fallen into her motions, all those questions and worries seemed to fade away. Lucy seemed perfectly comfortable with being in control of the situation, and Kendall had to admit that it was a nice change, letting her do all the work.
Her lips strayed from his as she ducked downward, coating the planes of his chest in soft pecks as his fingers wound through her sleek hair. When she bobbed up to meet his lust-ridden stare, her teeth gnawed at her lower lip as she flashed him a mischievous grin.
"I don't think you've seen my bedroom yet, yeah?"
"Nope." He couldn't help but chuckle as he followed her across the small, crowded apartment to her room, his legs like jelly beneath them as they struggled to carry his weight. It wasn't until he stood up that he realized just how intoxicated he was, each step shakier than the last before they both collapsed onto her unmade bed, their limbs tangled in the dark purple sheets.
In her element, surrounded by posters showcasing the various gods of rock, Lucy's true nature began to rise to the surface.
At first, she played along, giving Kendall the illusion of being in control of her as her body rested beneath his, his fingers making slow but steady work of the ribbon that laced up the back of her black corset. Once he'd unleashed her breasts from the rigid material, he was quick to attend to the newly exposed flesh, peppering her porcelain skin with light kisses.
"Is that seriously the best you've got?" she challenged, edging him on with an arch of her eyebrow. "Come on, Kendall. Be a man." There was a certain primal aspect to her words, a growl to her voice that brought out his competitive streak, and he was determined to prove her wrong.
Every raw emotion he'd kept buried down beneath the surface, the feelings he'd never been able to express with Jo, all felt like they were tearing through his muscles, and he was suddenly aware of just how much more foreboding his stature was compared to Lucy's pixie-like frame. It was crazy how, even though he was so much more powerful than her physically, he was completely under her control.
The gentle kisses were replaced by more demanding nips, her skin grated between his teeth as she voiced her appreciation. His lips curved around her pulse point, giving the fragile skin a harsh drag as her hips bucked up off the mattress to meet his. When he broke away, eager to attend to another patch of skin along her neck, he noticed how the blood had already collected beneath the abused skin he'd left in his wake. No doubt her fair skin would be marked with an ugly purple bruise, something that Jo would've never allowed, and there was something about seeing the battered flesh that only encouraged him to take things further. There was something about seeing the evidence of their passion, knowing that Lucy would have to keep it hidden beneath a scarf for at least a week before the ugly bruise faded away, that gave him a sick sense of satisfaction, knowing that, even though the proof was in plain sight, only the two of them would know its true origin.
From that point onward, both of them shed their inhibitions, and there was no going back to the way things were between them before, and Kendall was okay with that. Once he'd gotten a taste of what it was like being with Lucy, Kendall knew he couldn't go back to being "just friends."
As her legs wrapped around his waist, the grip of her thighs tight around him as she pulled him closer, her pleated plaid miniskirt hiked up around her waist, revealing the lacey black thong she'd kept hidden beneath her clothes. Just as Kendall was beginning to feel more familiar with this new side of sexuality, his hips falling into their natural rhythm as they grinded against hers, Lucy was quick to switch things up once more, inching up against the headboard and away from his thrusts.
"Don't tell me you've never had a girl on top before," she laughed, still imprisoned between his muscular arms.
He hadn't, but he wasn't about to tell her that as he rolled over onto the stretch of mattress beside her, his eyes trained on her as she straddled his waist. One hand stroked the defined muscles of his abdomen while the other made haste with his fly, tugging the denim down over his hipbones. As she leaned down to kiss him hungrily, Kendall wriggled free of his pants, the fabric collecting in a bunch around his ankles before he was able to kick them off.
Lucy's hips rotated against his, and through his boxer briefs, Kendall could feel her damp and warm against him, and knowing that she wanted him so badly, that even her body craved him, did nothing to ease the dull throb that was growing steadily between his hips. Her nails pierced the skin along his shoulders, her thumbs pressed into the hollow below his collarbone, the discomfort only adding to the experience, fueling his desire as he watched her bounce around on top of him.
Anxious to get even, to leave her own mark on his sun-kissed skin, Lucy proceeded to cover his neck in quick, vicious bites, each one harsher than the last, and Kendall was quickly discovering that he enjoyed the pain. When she sat up, she tilted her head lazily to the side, her dark hair a striking contrast to her pale skin, but Kendall was too absorbed in the way her small breasts followed the swaying rhythm of her hips to notice her ethereal beauty.
Lucy didn't really care; in all honesty, she was as desperate to get off as he was in that moment.
She paused for a moment, reaching just below the small of her back to unzip her skirt, and Kendall used the break as an opportunity to fish the condom from his wallet, tearing through the black wrapper with his teeth. After he'd successfully shed his boring white underwear to the carpet beneath them, he used one hand to hold himself steady as the other rolled the rubber down the length of his cock.
When they were both waddling across the mattress, the pressure of their knees eliciting annoying squeals from the springs, Kendall grabbed Lucy, his grip tight around her upper arms as his lips blended into hers once more. Once he'd broken away, Lucy looked up at him, a mixture of defiance and lust swirled in her irises, before commenting, "I'm a big girl, Kendall. You don't have to be so gentle. I'm definitely not your ex-girlfriend."
She was right about that, and for the sake of pure spite, he reached down to give her ass a firm smack, causing her to tremble for a moment, her tough girl persona shattered in an instant.
"That's more like it," she fired back with a wink, throwing her long hair back over her shoulder.
Their movements slowed for a moment, and Lucy's eyes unabashedly skimmed the length of Kendall's frame, a smirk adorning her lips once she'd reached the part of his anatomy in question. He was definitely more endowed in that region than any of the other guys she'd been with, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing that. Instead, she simply replied, "I can work with that."
Before he knew it, she was on her hands and knees in front of him, wiggling her ass teasingly as she threw a glance his way.
"Come on, Kendall. Let go." Her lips formed a perfect "O" around the last word, an expression that turned him on even more.
It wasn't a position that Kendall was familiar with, but he obviously wasn't opposed to experimentation when it came to matters of the bedroom, so he grabbed hold of her hips forcefully, yanking her back towards him as he thrust into her without warning, causing a throaty moan to push its way past her lips.
As he struggled to find his own rhythm, a hand wandered away from her hip, giving her thigh a quick squeeze before ghosting back up her spine to play in her hair. The locks cascaded off of her shoulders, forming a curtain around her face, keeping her features cloaked in mystery. Even though he couldn't gauge her reaction visually, the way she consistently called out his name was enough of an audio cue to assure him he was hitting the right spots.
This new angle was exhilarating, and he loved the way that, even though her movements controlled the act more than his own, she still moaned his praise.
"Oh God, Kendall. Right there, right there. Go harder please."
As she began to buck back against him more erratically, Kendall kept his pace steady, letting his cheek rest below one of her shoulder blades. The musky scent of her perfume blended with her sweat, the earthy fragrance enthralling as his hip bones dug deeper into the flesh of her ass. With the way she was screaming his name, Kendall knew he couldn't hold out much longer. Sweat beaded along his forehead and rolled over his temple as his muscles forced out a couple final thrusts before he gave out on top of her.
When they were both a mess of sweaty limbs tangled in the sheets, Lucy turned to face him. "That was definitely way better than I'd expected," she admitted, flicking a stray strand of hair from her eyes. "But you could use some practice, too. You really need to man up about it, steer clear of all this romantic, loving bullshit. I'm not a doll, you're not going to break me. Just remember" she paused to bite back a laugh, "sex bruises are good bruises."
Lying on his back, jade eyes gazing up at the ceiling, Kendall couldn't help but smile faintly to himself. She was the only girl with the ability to leave him speechless.
"Oh, and I'm not really one for pillow talk," Lucy explained before rolling onto her stomach, her face buried in her pillow.
She was just the change he needed.