Cherry On Top

8.1 | The Truth, Exposed

Warning: mild explicit scene

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RJ

Feb 7, 2014, Friday.

Tennis practice drains me more than normal. Maybe it was not a good idea to stay up late answering Chloe's incessant questions through texts. But I had to. She finally started to get a bit of understanding of the concepts, and I needed to keep her motivation going.

I stifle a yawn as I dig for my towel.

"Eh, RJ, you joining us for team dinner later?" Joei asks, planting a hard slap on my back.

I give the tennis captain a cautious glance. "Sorry, Joei. No time today."

She frowns. "Again?"

"Yeah, sorry, things have been crazy lah. I'm... preparing to teach Chem remedial lessons and everything."

"Oh, okay," Joei says slowly. "Next time then?"

Ever since she became captain, Joei has been taking team dinners very seriously—it's supposedly good for team morale. I know she is letting me off for now because I'm her friend. But with my appointments at Tropic Falls, I am not sure when I will have time for these dinners.

"Yeah, yeah, next time," I lie.

Joei narrows her eyes at me before nodding and walking away. As she marches into the bathroom, she yells some encouragement at the newly-joined first-years about their friendly game today.

"Everything okay?" Huimin approaches me, looking up at me with a pair of concerned eyes.

I force a smile. "Yeah lah. Just tired."

Huimin looks like she wants to ask something more, but I don't wait for her to say it as I follow the rest of the team into the bathroom. Slipping into a walled shower cubicle, I close the door shut and hide myself from the world. I badly need some alone time after a long day of school and tennis practice.

The tension in my body releases as hot water rains down on me. Letting out a sigh, I slump forward and rest my forehead on the cold tiles.

I am so glad it's Friday. I will have to find Chloe later and probably teach her the entire Junior College syllabus again, but after today, I'll finally get a bit of a breather.

Her face flashes through my mind—her usual smile as she greets people, her dreary expression as we go through practice questions, her crestfallen face when she tells me her mother's condition... Once again, my heart aches with worry. I cannot believe she has been carrying all that burden with her. No wonder she was always so tired in class. No wonder she is pushing herself to work that job.

I close my eyes and try to shake the distress away. Instead, I focus on the shower—the warmth enveloping me, the smell of my shampoo, the soft pelting of the water. My body relaxes, and my hand travels towards the spot between my legs. Leaning my weight on the wall in front of me, I slide my fingers inside me.

My skin tingles with pleasure, and my wrist quickens in its movement as I imagine my celebrity crushes, this random model I saw in a magazine the other day, and then... Chloe.

No, no, go back to celebrities. Victoria's Secret models. Hyuna. Jennifer Lawrence.

The pleasure rises in me, and a breath catches in my throat. I let my hand go on autopilot—and Chloe appears in my mind again. This time, I cannot stop her from flooding my brain. Chloe, in her Tropic Falls outfit, tugging on the hem of her glittery dress. Chloe, and her smile, her little pout, her cute laugh. Chloe, draped against me, doing this to me...