Reputations
Chapter 10:
Gatsby is a Pussy
"So are we gonna fuck or what?"
Sebastian cocked an eyebrow at the blunt question, his glass of bourbon paused on his lips. He was at once amused by the crude inquiry and annoyed, although he's not sure why. It was a fair question. This was after all the time in the evening when he would make his move. For whatever reason though, he found himself lacking agency.
It wasn't like the girl was unattractive. In fact, she was rather stunning. Asian, with long silky dark hair pouring down her back. She looked fetching in her red sequined flapper dress that was on point for the theme of that week's party: the roaring twenties. Sebastian wondered how many times that theme has been pulled out of storage. Every time some airheaded debutante gets assigned Fitzgerald in English lit or catches The Great Gatsby on cable, they act as if they just discovered some forgotten era, clueless to the fact that it's all been done before. And better.
Not that any of that mattered one iota to the shallow creature in front of him. Leah Hahn might be gorgeous but she was seriously lacking in anything reaching substance, having just spent the past fifteen minutes babbling on about some fight she got into with a girl on snapchat that Sebastian was in no way drunk enough to listen to. The truth was he couldn't even be sure how he ended up with her, tucked away in a second floor den. When she approached him at the party, he had been desperate to put his mind on other things and she seemed as good a reason as any.
Now here they were, cozied up on a leather chesterfield and he found himself with little to no inclination to peruse anything more than another glass of alcohol. That being said, he did have a reputation to maintain.
Sebastian slipped a hand around her neck and teasingly strummed her skin this his thumb. "What's the rush dollface? You got another party to get to?"
She melted into his side and batted her eyes in a manner that could be described as coquettish. "No, it's just Johnny might come looking for me soon," she explained referencing her on again off again lacrosse team captain boyfriend. "Assuming he's not too busy messing around with that slut from Chapin. Ugh, why are guys such assholes?"
"You're asking me?"
They both laughed at that, his reputation being what it was. He imagined that's why she sought him out that night. He was the bad boy who knew how to show a girl a good time and not keep his mouth shut about it. There was likely an ass kicking in his future on account of this little (non) indiscretion. Sebastian couldn't bring himself to care.
"According to Annette Hargrove you're actually a very sweet guy."
He flinched in surprise at this revelation and slowly smiled. "Annette told you that?"
"Well not me, she told Marci Ryan, you know that girl who you…um…"
Ass fucked and never called the next day, was what she couldn't bring herself to say. Leah blushed, gaze looking down before continuing, "Um anyway, she was bitching you out in PE I guess and Annette totally defended you. She practically called Marci a slag for agreeing to do that in the first place, which she totally is. Oh my god, did you ever hear about what went down between her and the…"
While she went off on Marci's checkered past, Sebastian found himself tuning her out. He considered this latest piece of gossip. Annette was defending him, this had to be a good sign right? Then again, perhaps he was just desperate for any ray of hope in regard to her.
The truth was, Sebastian wasn't a hundred percent sure where he and Annette stood right then. He had gone to dinner with her against Kathryn's advice and it had been good. They laughed and reminisced and just generally had a nice time. But's that's where it ended. When he tried to kiss her goodnight she rebuffed his advances with a hand shake. They talked in school during the past week, but Sebastian was getting the distinct impression she was putting him off. That combined with the fact that she had yet to cut Trevor loose, left him wondering if this grand reunion of theirs was all in his head.
Until now that is. If what Leah said was true perhaps there was hope for them after all. "So what else did Annette say about me?" he asked, cutting off her monologue.
Leah blinked at him then shrugged. Reaching for her forgotten glass of champagne she took a sip, explaining, "I don't know. Something about how you were misunderstood and deep down you are a good guy." She winked at him. "Sounds like a load of crap if you ask me."
Sebastian flashed a quick smile, while he tried to decipher what all that meant.
"So are you two hooking up again? I'm kind of surprised. I mean, I totally thought you were into Kathryn."
His head snapped in her direction. "What on earth made you think that?"
"I don't know." She shrugged, "You're always together. At school, at parties. Everyone just assumed you two were doing it. I mean the way you look at her-"
"She's just my neighbor," he replied defensively. More than anything Sebastian wished that was true. He wanted her to be just another girl. For years he was able to ignore their past and just think of Kathryn as nothing more than a high school mean girl with a coke habit and a nice pair of tits. Try as he might he couldn't do that now. She was officially under his skin.
They hadn't spoken in over a week and it was making him anxious. He needed to talk with her, tell her about Annette, get her opinion even if it was just to subtly mock him. Fucking hell, he missed her and that made him resentful. After all, Kathryn was the one in the wrong not him. She had no right to tell Annette about his mother. Had she apologized rather than try to rationalize it away with her twisted agenda, he might have forgiven her, but then again, apologies weren't really Merteuil's style.
Well he wouldn't break first. So what if he missed her and just the mere mention of her name caused him to have heart palpitations? It didn't mean anything.
"So, what, did you guys like have a fight or something?"
Sebastian stared into his drink. "What makes you think that?"
Leah shrugged. "Well you didn't come to the party together like you usually do."
This gave him pause. "Kathryn's here?" He hadn't seen her—not that he'd been looking. Sebastian glanced at the door, suddenly eager to return to the party. He needed to refresh his drink anyway.
He started to get up off the couch, when Leah was suddenly on top of him, straddling his waist. "Come on, I'm horny," she whined then attacked his mouth. Sebastian could have easily pushed her off, but damn it all.
Wrapping his arms around her he tugged her closer, his hands groping her ass. Leah pushed her fingers through his hair, inadvertently knocking his fedora askew. Sebastian was wearing a navy pinstripe Brooks Brothers suit complete with a vest, maroon club tie, suspenders and a navy button up. In other words, he was wearing far too many damn clothes.
Not that Leah seemed to mind. She was going for his zipper, reaching for his semi hard cock when the heavy door to the study was thrown open. Sebastian halfheartedly pulled away from her ardent mouth just in time to see her sort of boyfriend Johnny and a couple of his cronies' storm in.
"You're dead asshole!"
He lunged for him causing Leah to scramble to her feat with a dramatic squeal. Sebastian really couldn't be bothered to give a shit. Apparently that ass kicking was going to come sooner than expected. With a resigned sigh he zipped up his pants then fixed his hat. "Evening gentleman," he drawled, "I guess none of you shitheads learned to knock. And we were just getting to the good part." He licked his lips lasciviously at Leah who blushed five different shades of red.
When Johnny went for him again, she yanked on her boyfriend's arm. "Knock it off! You have no right Johnny. I know you were with that skank!"
As the two of them started screaming at one another like a couple of Jerry Springer guests, Sebastian languidly got to his feet. God, almighty he hated high school parties. Scratching the back of his head, he wondered if he could sneak out of there with no one being the wiser.
"You son of a bitch!" Leah screeched, punctuating her anger with a slap across the face before strutting past the goons at the door. Well that's great, he thought watching her dramatic exit, she could at least take him with her.
Sebastian sighed. "Well as enlightening as this has been…" he tried to follow her out the door only to be pushed back.
"Not so fast asshole," Johnny sneered. "We still have unfinished business to attend to."
Valmont flicked his hand off his arm. "Look if this is about us going to prom together, I told you baby, you're not my type."
The two meaty football players behind him snickered, but Johnny's jaw clenched in anger. He wasn't a tall boy but he was beefy, likely thanks to a steady diet of steroids and cocaine. It really wasn't smart of him to antagonize him like this, but Sebastian couldn't resist.
"You think you're real clever don't you faggot? Let's see how funny you are with my fist up your ass?"
"You're into that?"
He replied with a swift right hook that knocked Sebastian into the oak desk behind him. He didn't bother to fight back. Three against one. What was the point?
"It's about time you learned to keep your hands off other people's things Valmont."
As they started to slowly advance of him, Sebastian straightened himself out and sighed in resignation. "Can I just ask one thing first? Did you three coordinate outfits before going out?"
The three of them paused and looked at each other as if just realizing for the first time that they were in matching stripped jacket, khaki pants and bow ties. "Well this is a first," Sebastian noted dryly, "I don't think I've gotten my ass kicked by a guy wearing a boater hat before, let alone three. You assholes look like a barber shop quartet on steroids."
"That's it!"
Johnny grabbed him by the collar and raised his fist in the air, but before he could commence with his beat down someone pulled him back. "Hey guys, calm down. This isn't a good idea."
If you asked Sebastian to comprise a list of all the people who might come to his rescue, the name Court Reynolds would have never in a million years made the cut and yet here he was. Looking past an irate Johnny, Valmont was genuinely shocked to find Reynolds holding him back.
So apparently, was Johnny.
"Court man, come on. You know this little prick has it coming."
"What I know," he argued, hulling the guy off of him and standing between them, "Is if Gigi finds out you're starting some shit on her birthday she'll have you banned from her parties for the rest of the year. Come on John, use your brain. It's not worth it."
Johnny looked like he wanted to argue, but he held his tongue. To the bewilderment of Sebastian, he backed off. Running a frustrated hand through his hair he took a deep breath. "Okay, alright, fine. But so help me god Valmont, this isn't over!"
Sebastian merely held up his hands in mock surrender while the three little pigs shuffled off, sneering at him as they departed. When they were alone, Court shut the door while Sebastian leaned against the desk, removing the silver plated cigarette case from his jacket and popping one in his mouth. His face hurt from where he was hit but he was not concerned. Even with a shiner he'd still be pretty.
Besides, at the moment he was much more concerned about the motivations of the asshole in front of him. "So what is this?" he sighed. "Did you want the privilege of finishing the job yourself? I might not have been able to take those three bag of dicks, but I'm fairly confident I can take you."
Court snickered at this. "Please, I'd have you on the floor before you know what hit you."
Sebastian lazily sized up his opponent. Reynolds was taller than him, but not much bigger. He was on a few sports teams but not particularly athletic. He could totally take him.
Before Sebastian could argue this point, Court continued, "I have no interest in kicking your ass Valmont. Well, not now at least."
He lit up the cigarette that had been dangling unceremoniously from his mouth and took a deep inhale. "So you're telling me you just stepped in out of the goodness of your heart?"
"Don't be absurd," Reynolds replied, sprawling out on the couch in front of him. "You know they're likely going to try and jump you, if not tonight then tomorrow or Monday at school. I can make sure they back off, but I need a favor from you in return."
"What kind of favor?"
Court picked up Leah's half drank abandoned glass of champagne and gave it a sniff before downing it. "I need you to stay away from Cecile."
Jesus, what was it with this girl, he wondered. For an average looker with a complete absence of wit she sure did attract a lot of attention. Rolling his eyes, Sebastian huffed, "What makes you think I'm interested?"
"Well she's innocent for one." Setting the glass down with a thud he shot him a pointed look adding, "And two, I'm guessing Kathryn suggested it."
He flinched at the sound of her name. Shit, that was becoming a bad habit. Striving to appear casual he popped off his hat and twirled it around his finger. "Contrary to popular belief, I don't take orders from Kathryn."
This made Reynolds smile. "That's good to hear. I know how she can be…"
Sebastian got the feeling he was digging for some kind of dirt, but he remained inscrutable to his curious eyes. Finally, Court sighed. "So do we have a deal or what? Will you stay away from Cecile? She's innocent in all this Valmont and she doesn't deserve to be made some pawn in another one of Merteuil's sick twisted games."
He seriously doubted Reynolds motives were any more noble than Kathryn's, but it didn't matter. Sebastian no longer had a horse in this race. Kathryn had betrayed him when she blabbed about his past to Annette and he would gladly return the favor by denying her, her revenge. It felt oddly poetic. "Yeah, okay," Sebastian relented. "I'll keep my distance."
Court rose to his feet, his victorious smile making him appear more smug and pompous than normal. "That's great." He extended a hand and Sebastian reluctantly shook it before pushing off the desk.
"Hey, you're doing the right thing."
"How boring," Sebastian drawled, blowing a smoke ring at him as he passed. Sliding his hat back on, Sinatra style he made his exit, tossing off an indifferent goodbye as he left. "Later Reynolds."
Closing the door behind him, something akin to dread settled unwanted in his stomach. Sebastian paused. He should be pleased with himself for what he just agreed to, but instead it felt like betrayal. Which was infuriating. Why should he feel badly about anything?
Shaking it off, he headed back to the party. He needed a drink, maybe a line and he'd be good as new. Who knows, maybe he'd luck out and Annette would show up after all.
Making his way down the sprawling staircase, he drank in the decadence on display before him. The party that evening was being hosted by Gigi Van Doran, a junior he had once heard Kathryn describe as a nice pair of tits with a box of rocks where a brain should be. It was being held at her parent's sprawling estate on the north shore of Long Island. It wasn't so much a house as an endless stream of mahogany lined rooms all connected by narrow corridors decorated in priceless art. Currently it was filled to the brim with intoxicated teenagers in ridiculous costumers. In the massive ballroom, the epicenter of the festivities, was a live band playing raucous jazz music that a few girls were attempting to Charleston to. In the connecting room, guests were gathered around a baccarat table, hooting and hollering, while a lively game of strip poker was underway in the corner. Circulating the party were pretty girls in tiny, not decade appropriate uniforms, serving trays of shots, pills and cocaine. In other words, it was a typical UES party, save for the dated duds.
Grabbing a drink off a passing tray, Sebastian strolled through the party. A few people tried to catch his attention but he moved past them, ignoring their drunken cries. Sometimes he missed being invisible.
His gaze sweeping through the crowd, he searched for a familiar head of blond hair. It was true this wasn't really Annette's scene, but she told him maybe she'd come. Hope springs eternal, he thought darkly to himself, or something like that.
Sebastian was making his way to the bar when he suddenly stopped. He didn't mean to; he didn't want her to see him, but it was too late. Kathryn looked up from the conversation she was in the middle of as if sensing his presence and met his stare from across the room. She glared at him, subtly, lest anyone suspect she might not be all sweetness and light. Sebastian returned it.
The thing of it was though, it felt false. His anger at her had dissipated somewhat over the past week. Perhaps he had overreacted, after all he'd have to tell Annette eventually about Elizabeth. It mine as well be now, when he could use it to his advantage. Clearly however she was still angry at him. Sebastian supposed he could go over there and apologize, slip him arms around her waist, whisper to her that their fighting was starting to bore him. Kathryn always pretended to act annoyed when he got tactile with her in public, but he suspected she secretly enjoyed it. She'd press her backside into him and tell him, they couldn't have that. It would be easy but he won't do it. His pride refused him what he wanted most.
Adding insult to injury, she looked amazing. Wearing an intricately beaded black and silver art deco flapper dress, with a long string of pearls wrapped around her neck and a diamond head band, Kathryn was easily the most striking girl there. But that didn't change anything. Sebastian walked past her without a second look.
Dropping down onto a vacant bar stool, he reached for a bottle of something or other (did it matter?) only to pause when the bartender turned around. It was Blaine Tuttle. Sporting off white trousers, a matching button up rolled at the sleeves, suspenders and a newsboy cap he looked rather demure. For him.
"I just love a good twenties party," he sighed, shaking up a martini. "All these straight boys dressed up like dandies. Something about putting on period clothing makes them much more susceptible to taking it off."
"That and all the free drugs you ply them with," Sebastian drawled pouring himself some vodka.
Tuttle flashed that sharp grin of his. "What's got you down puddin'? Still fighting with our favorite ice princess?"
"She told you about that?"
He shrugged. "Well she's there and you're over here pouting into your drink. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to infer that all is not happy in Pygmalion land. Word of advice, just apologize."
Sebastian set down his drink with a thud. "I will do no such thing. She's the one—"
"It doesn't matter," the other man (or boy) cut him off. "Look we both know that girl's more likely to wear off the rack then ever apologize for anything. Swallow your pride and do it for her. You clearly miss her."
He scowled at the implication. "I do not."
"Then why are you here chatting me up instead of off in a corner somewhere with an impressionable young lady?"
"If you must know," he sighed, "I'm waiting for someone."
Tuttle poured the martini into a glass and took a delicate sip. "Let me guess, the Hargrove chit?"
Sebastian nodded dully and Blaine let out a long, tired sigh. "Well since apparently NOBODY ELSE has decided to tell you," he yelled out over the music, drawing a few curious gazes their way, "I guess it's going to fall on me, the all-knowing fag to lay some knowledge on you."
"Jesus," Sebastian muttered. Apparently Tuttle was drunker than he led on.
Leaning across the bar, his expression no longer quite so gregarious Blaine revealed, "You and little miss priss? Not going to happen."
- "You know nothing about it."
"Don't I, Gatsby?"
Sebastian paused mid sip. "Excuse me?"
"Oh come on, don't tell me a boy as well read as yourself isn't up on his Fitzgerald."
"Of course I am."
"Then I think the similarities are obvious, don't you? Handsome, obscenely rich young man, obsessively pinning for the fetching, yet distant blonde who belongs to another."
Valmont considered this then shook his head. "I'll admit there are a few parallels but they are all superficial. Your stupid little theory doesn't hold weight and here's why. One, I am not Gatsby. Gatsby is a pussy."
"That's a matter of opinion."
"And two, Annette is nothing like Daisy. She's not flighty, she doesn't worship material things."
"But they do have one important thing in common. A desire for security."
Sebastian shook his head. "I told you Annette's not like that. She doesn't care about money—
"I'm not talking about financial security." Blaine poured out two more martinis and slid one over to him. "She wants the security of knowing that her boyfriend isn't going to sneak off to plow a piece of strange once her back is turned."
He took offense to that. "I would never cheat on Annette."
"Really? Not even if say a certain bitchy brunette were to come over here, grind against your junk and ask you to take her upstairs and fuck her six ways to Sunday? You still wouldn't be tempted?"
Sebastian hesitated and really that said it all. Judging by the pointed look Tuttle was leveling at him, he knew it too, but he stayed in denial mode. "Not in the least," he stated firmly.
Blaine nodded, with a knowing smile. "Well alright then. Have at it." He held out his hand, gesturing at something behind him. Sebastian turned around to see Annette making her way through the crowd. His heart leapt at her presence. Sliding off his stool he started towards her when Tuttle called out, "Don't say I didn't warn you Gatsby!"
Ignoring him, Sebastian pressed on, pushing past the increasingly chaotic crowd to get to her. When he was at last standing in front of her, she looked up, her bright blue eyes seemingly startled by his presence. Her lips eased into a grin, but there was something wary about her expression as she greeted him. "Hey Sebastian."
On impulse he pulled her into a hug, his nose nuzzling into her neck, drinking in her familiar scent. She was stiff in his arms but he ignored it. "You look beautiful," he told her as they drew back from one another.
"Thanks." Annette blushed under the compliment but there was no reason for modesty. She looked as lovely as he'd ever seen her, wearing a lilac lace dress with white arm length gloves. Her blond hair was curled tightly at the ends, her makeup soft but more dramatic than normal. She said something about his appearance but he was too busy staring at her to really hear it.
Slipping his hand in hers he tugged her towards the nearest exit. "Let's go somewhere more private," he murmured against her ear.
Annette stopped him. "Sebastian I can't…I'm here with somebody."
Sebastian's smile crumbled and he dropped her hand. "What?" Looking past her, into the crowd, he spotted Trevor on the outskirts of the makeshift dance floor, obviously trying not to watch them while nursing a bear. His suit was ugly and brown. "I thought you were done with that."
Scowling she shook her head. "Sebastian I..." She struggled for the right words, her eyes darting this way and that. After a moment she seemed to gather her courage and Sebastian knew whatever she had to say was going to be bad. "I want us to be friends, but that's all. I'm sorry if you misinterpreted anything."
"Bullshit," he sneered, his anger and hurt making him itch to lash out at her. "You invited me to dinner, you told me if I distanced myself from Kathryn—"
"We could be friends again. That's it. I'm with Trevor now and I can't hurt him like that."
"But you have no problem ripping my heart out?"
"That's not fair."
Luckily the music and the roar of the crowd was loud enough that they didn't seem to be attracting much attention. Not that Sebastian gave a shit about any of that right now. "Just tell me why," he demanded.
"You know why. We're too different. We want different things. We barely made it work last time. This is for the best Sebastian. Believe me."
Annette didn't give him a chance to respond. Leaning in she kissed his cheek then stepped back mumbling a lame goodbye before heading back to Mr. Personality. Sebastian watched her depart numbly, trying to decipher how he had completely miscalculated everything. This whole time she had just been after friendship? Why did he not completely buy that? He felt like he was missing something, some crucial part of the puzzle, but his chaotic emotions wouldn't let him see it.
He watched her as she talked with Trevor, likely reassuring him that he had nothing to worry about. They hugged and she looked back at Sebastian with a concerned expression on her face. Sebastian started towards them intent on, well he wasn't sure what, when he felt someone grab his arm and haul him back.
"Not a good idea."
It was Kathryn who was dragging him away, leading him back to a quiet corner. His pulse quickened at her proximity but he ignored that lingering excitement that somehow always managed to manifest whenever he was in her presence and whined, "Kathryn not now, I'm in the middle of something."
"Shut up," she ordered now standing in front of him, "And try not to read anything into this."
"What are you—"
Before he could get the question out she grabbed him by the back of the neck and thrust him into a kiss he was not at all prepared for. For a moment his whole brain shut down, so utterly caught off guard by what was happening he couldn't respond right away. However, the gentle press of Kathryn's lips against his own soon awakened him to what was going on. His hands came down to grip her waist and he tugged her closer. Sebastian hungrily kissed her back, the force of which was enough to elicit a much coveted whimper from her. All events of the past twenty minutes completely evaporated from his subconscious as he lost himself in her.
When Kathryn pulled back, panting lightly, eyes slightly dazed. It shocked him how eager he was for her, almost verging on desperate. Licking her red lips, she murmured, voice husky and raw, "Well that was—
"Shut up," he leveled back in the same tone she used earlier. He pulled her back into another kiss. This time Sebastian let himself go completely, ignoring everything, the party, the noise, Annette and her idiot boyfriend. It all faded away, leaving nothing but him and her and that tiny cramped little corner.
Pressing her back into the wall, he fisted the expensive material of her dress, the beads cutting into his hands. His mouth moved confidently against hers, he eagerly teased her lips apart with his tongue before thrusting it inside her mouth. Kathryn's hands circled his neck, drawing him in closer until he could feel the soft press of her breasts against his chest. The feel of them caused Sebastian's grip to tightened on her. He wanted to drown in her. He wanted to do nothing else but this for the rest of all time.
Unfortunately, however, sometimes you need to come up for air.
Kathryn broke away first. A sly smile slowly spread across her face. It was one that Sebastian found himself mirroring. He huffed out a laugh, feeling oddly delirious. "Well shit," was his elegant reply.
"I think she bought it," she told him, as she eyed something over his shoulder.
Sebastian was so far gone he didn't even realize what she was talking about. "Who?"
She laughed. "Wow, I almost believe that."
The thing of it was, for once he was on the level. When it finally dawned on Sebastian what she was referring to he sighed. Covertly he snuck a glance at Annette. He was surprised to find her watching them, her face crest fallen, her eyes on the brink of tears. Oddly enough, he was unmoved.
"I doubt she'll care," he replied, turning his attention back to Kathryn. He rested a hand on the wall above her head and leaned into her.
"Oh I don't know; she looks pretty broken up to me." Her expression took on that calculating mean girl look of hers as she added, "I'm sure she'll lay awake in bed for ages, the memory of us burning in her brain, keeping her awake, tormenting her relentlessly."
"My, aren't we dramatic."
Kathryn studied his face. "You sound like you don't care."
"That's because I don't." Sebastian couldn't explain it. He went from being utterly devastated to completely indifferent in the span of five minutes. Whatever Kathryn unleashed in him had taken hold and right then and there, the last thing on his mind was Annette.
Of course his comment was met with disbelief. "You're saying you're over her, just like that?"
He shrugged. "Just like that."
Kathryn looked like she wanted to say more but he cut her off, taking her by the hand and tugging her to the terrace doors. "You want to get out of here?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"No."
AN: Thanks again sfstewart! Please review.