FicWad

4/6

June 5th, 2006

"I don't know if you're listening, but I just have to tell you once again that I'm sorry. It was wrong to hit you, Mandy."

The words came flying into my ear like silky arrows with their target being my brain. He had put on his most velvety voice as he whispered softly into the locks of my dark hair. I pretended to sleep so that Gabriel wouldn't want to start talking to me.
I wasn't ready for the required 'after-fight' talk we so desperately needed to have. Not now. The fact that Gabriel had hit me hadn't even had time to really sink in yet.

My mother would flip through newspapers every morning when I was young, clad in her characteristic white housecoat. Her feet tapping the floor impatiently in the soft cover of her scruffy slippers.
Hauntingly, her eyes scanned the pages and she frowned every time there was an article about a man beating his wife.

"That's pathetic!" she used to hiss, "and the women sticking with those men are equally pathetic."

I guess I'm one of those pathetic girls now. I had not only taken the hit submissively, but also started thinking about forgiving Gabriel.
What if the hits would become a part of our everyday life? Would I still be with him?

I decided not to think about that. I had more facile things to do today than to ponder over my cracking relationship with Gabriel.
For example I was going to see Jared by the Modern Art's Museum in a couple of hours.

These days he seemed to be the only little ray of light in this world. Charming, open-minded and gorgeous. Did I mention that he is famous too? I was lucky to even know that guy.
Sounds from the outside attracted my full attention as I laid in bed, hugging the covers like it was a human body.

I wondered why the sounds were so noisy and impossible to ignore. My eyes searched for an answer to that thought and I soon found it.
The window in our bedroom was open to let light, sound and flies inside. A mechanical buzzing vibrating through the air, pushing atoms like pendulums, reached my eardrum.
A lawnmower? What kind of person in his, or her, right mind would get up at 8 am to mow the lawn?

I rolled out of bed, suddenly annoyed at the entire world, and stumbled towards the window.
Of course. I should have known that it would be fucking Jane Tree-Hugger who was mowing the lawn. We only have one crazy neighbour so it shouldn't be so hard to narrow the possible suspects down to one. The perpetrator.

Jane Tree-Hugger, her real surname is Haynes, was the one living next door in a small white building. Me and Gabriel often found ourselves laughing at her behind her back.
I know that it isn't nice and all that stuff, but she has it coming with the way she acts.

Jane never wears makeup or tight clothes. She only run around in loose pants, flip-flops, tie-dyed tunics and heavy necklaces.
A modern hippie is what we call her. Every week there are new dogs and cat roaming around freely in her garden. She collects animals from shelters like they were stamps for her collection.

Another thing which Jane often brought into her home, except for abandoned animals, was homeless people. One or two times every month we would see a gaunt and beardy man step out of her house while carrying a plastic bag with chattels in it.
Every single time there were different men.

Gabriel liked to make fun of her because of her passion for everything living. I made fun of her because I needed to distance myself from her.
Sometimes I feel like Jane could have been me. Middle-age, completely alone and a joke to society.
The one allowing me to stand on the other side of the fence and have the rights to look down upon people like Jane was Gabriel. My hardworking Gabriel.

"Turn the fucking machine off!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. Jane didn't hear me and simply kept on pushing the old lawnmower in front of her like it was a carriage.
Groaning, I closed the window to find peace before jumping onto the bed again. I had hours to kill before seeing Jared and there is no better way to do that than to sleep.

I rolled around for a couple of minutes before I found the perfect sleeping position. The pillow formed itself around my head.
My thoughts turned into a blur and I was out like a light during a power outage.

The next time I woke up it was 11 am. Time to get ready for the museum.
Since I would be going with a celebrity I figured that it was for the best if I tried to look nice.

Somehow I managed to tame my curls into a less frizzy state. As I looked at myself in the mirror for the first time that day I froze and my eyes widened in horror.
I had red marks of Gabriel's fingers on my cheek.

"Shit," I cursed and started the tricky mission of trying to cover it with concealer and foundation. Getting the exact amount is very tricky.
You want to cover up redness and blemishes but you don't want it to look cakey. The foundation covered much of the marks, but sadly not every trace of them.
If I squinted and looked very carefully I could see pink lines underneath the makeup. I couldn't do more though, it was what it was.

I applied mascara and a thin cover of a champagne colour eyeshadow, which looked gorgeous. Seeing myself all made up and pretty made me smile.
It had been such a long time since I had met Mandy The Hottie. It was nice to know that she was still in there somewhere.

I chose a flowy sleeveless dress which was held up by a wide belt around the waist. It ended just above the knee. The colour of the dress was light beige, on the edge of being white, which emphasized my slightly tanned body.
On my feet I had no other choice but to wear my only pair of high heels. They were simple black pumps.

I felt so pretty when I called for a cab to pick me up and drive me to the Modern Art's Museum. Gabriel had our only car at work and I didn't have a driver's license, so I had to either go by cab or by foot. With heels on, the later alternative wasn't really an option.
When I heard the honking coming from our driveway I ran into the bathroom to check my makeup one last time. The mask was still on.
Time to go.

*
Jared was waiting by the museum, smiling widely and pulling me into a hug. "You look so good!" he said and let me go from the hold of his strong arms.

"I know," I said with a wink. Jared motioned for me to spin around by moving his index finger in circles.
I was more than happy to do so and spun around like a ballerina to show him every angle of me. I had worked hard on looking like a million bucks, so why not take full advantage of the moment?

"You wanna go inside?" he asked, a flirty smirk plastered on his perfectly sculptured lips. I nodded and followed his lead towards the museum's entrance.
I was happy that no one seemed to recognise Jared. Maybe the target audience of 30 Seconds To Mars didn't enjoy hanging out in museums that much.

We looked at so many abstract paintings that I got dizzy from excitement. Every painter had its own way of expressing feelings through the strokes of a brush.
So fascinating. I envied those artists. One day it would be my works hanging on that wall.

"What do you think?" Jared asked as I had stood like a statue in front of a painting for more than five minutes. It was as simple as a white canvas with some splashes of colour on it.
Still it captivated me and turned on all of my senses. It was highly appealing.

"I think this is amazing," I whispered in awe. Jared scoffed, brushing his arm against the naked skin on my shoulder intentionally.
"I think this is getting old. Do you want to see my house?" he asked pushingly.
I raised my eyebrows and looked at him as his words had managed to tear my thoughts away from the brilliant painting.
"Your house?" I echoed.

"Yeah. I think I have some cookies or something in the kitchen," he said excitedly, tugging at my arm to make me move. I refused to put a foot in front of the other and walk away. Playing hard to get can be very amusing.

"Cookies?" I asked mockingly. Jared whimpered. "Stop mimicking me like a parrot, Mandy. I won't make you to come with me, though. If you don't want to, that's fine," he said, letting go of my arm and turning around.

I didn't want him to go. Not in a million years. The game had to wait. "Wait! I'll come," I said and hurried up to get beside Jared. He was smiling all the way to his car.

I had never seen a car that polished before. It was a huge black thing with rims that would make Snoop Dogg green with envy.

We travelled the couple of miles to Jared's house while joking around and listening to 30 Seconds To Mars so loud that the seats were vibrating because of the bass.
Jared wore big red-rimmed sunglasses on the tip of his nose as he head-banged slowly and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. Suddenly looking over at me to fire off a dazzling smile.

"A revolution has begun!" he sang, or screamed if we're going to be honest, along with the sound of his own voice coming from the car stereo. I let my forehead rest against the cool glass of the car window and closed my eyes.
It was actually a revolution for me to be sitting next to Jared.

Such a big change from my usually disgustingly boring days around the house. Such a big change from only hearing Gabriel's nagging voice.
A pretty damn good change.

Soon Jared drove up a driveway to a huge house. It looked like something that Hugh Hefner would own. It was so beautiful that it almost seemed erotic.
As I stepped out of the car I only waited for girls in tiny bikinis to jump out of the thickets and start stripping.

"Are you a king? Because this is most definitely a castle," I asked, still being in awe as I admired his spotless garden and the stunning facade of his residence.
If this is what famous people have then they shouldn't be allowed to whine at such small things as paparazzi and lack of personal space.
I would give my right leg to have a piece of that house. Down to the core it was an artwork.

Just like its owner.

Jared chuckled at my comment and shook his head, wrapping his arm around the small of my back. His firm grip lead me towards the front door, a beautiful wooden thing with strange patterns carved into it.
He let his fingers surround the handle and slowly push it down to swing the massive door open.

The inside of the house was just as stunning as the outside. As I walked inside I was so scared of breaking a piece of what was decorating the walls. I didn't want to be the one destroying something perfect.
Jared kicked his shoes off and I copied his actions.

The room smelled like roses and something else which I couldn't quite put my finger on. All I can say is that it smelled nice.
Jared found my huge eyes amusing as I stood and took everything in like a kid in a candy shop.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked softly, cocking his head to the side. Like he could get more adorable.
I sighed.

"What about Gabriel?" I asked slowly. I'm not a cheater, but then again Gabriel did deserve to be punished for hitting me. It was not acceptable.

"Forget him. You know that I'm ten times better."
Jared sure was cocky. And rightfully so. He could so easily make me melt with just a flip of his hair and one of his godly smiles.
The celebrity standing right in front of me wasn't stupid. He knew that he had me in his hand and could play me like a doll.

I nodded. I didn't need more persuasion than that to threw myself into his arms.
The problem with me is that I'm very impulsive. I do what I feel like doing, when I feel like doing it, without worrying about the consequences. That's my charm and my curse.

Jared closed the gap between our bodies, placing a passionate kiss on my trembling lips. Butterflies tickled the depth of my stomach.
His big hands pulled me even closer by grabbing my ass, pressing the two hungry bodies together. I lapped the lust coming from him like it was sunlight.

I hadn't gotten this kind of attention from anyone in a really long time and I felt how I missed it. My female parts tingled as the blood rushed in panic over there.

I rolled my hips hastily against him and grabbed tufts of his hair, something I knew that Gabriel loved. Jared responded by picking me up bridal style and carrying me towards a room I suspected was the bedroom.

That many women came in and out of that room, considerably less innocent on their way out, didn't bother me. I wasn't like them.
Me and Jared had a connection. We were both so very creative souls.

His strong arms let go off me. I landed softly onto his bed, not even having the time to breathe before his body came crashing down over me. Panting, kissing and grinding we pulled our clothes off. Garment after garment until there were nothing left but skin to explore. We both got tired of just kissing pretty soon, wanting something deeper and more pleasurable.

He turned me over and I was on my knees, grabbing the sheets underneath me with my small hands. Quite ironic that we were going to do it doggy-style like Sally and Judas had done it when they first met.
His experienced hands spread my legs wider apart and then I could feel a slightly pressure against my opening.

I waited patiently for the first penetration to take place. He was definitely teasing me. Wanting me to start begging and pleading.

The tip of his cock rubbed against me, just about to go in when he then pulled back again.
"Come on," I groaned and backed an inch to force him into me. The smirk played on his lips, for sure, as he without mercy rammed into me.

"Yes," I hissed very contently, Jared was nothing like Gabriel. Nothing disturbed us when we fucked. Not a single phone call or a reason to stop.
Our bodies moved in sync until sweat poured out of our pores like poison. Our love game was about to end.

With a small squeal my body tensed up, my groin hot and shaky. I rode out the orgasm, embracing the spasms. Soon Jared collapsed on my back with a groan.
We laid on our back as we tried regaining a steady breathing. His hand resting on my lower belly.
"Wow," I breathed to receive a faint chuckle from Jared.

"Yes, wow. That was good," he admitted and I felt so proud. I had managed to satisfy the needs of the famous singer slash actor Jared Leto.
Then something hit me. One name with so many emotions behind it. Gabriel.

What had I done to him? I had cheated. A thing I swore I would never do. Guilt washed over me.
I couldn't stay with Jared for long.

I gathered my underwear and my dress and slipped it on. Jared stroked sweaty strands of hair out of his red face. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"Home," I answered shortly. Jared nodded swiftly.

"Let's do this again. Soon," he said and grinned. I inhaled sharply. "Yes, soon," I echoed.

The truth was that I really wanted to stay in bed with Jared, but couldn't do it because of Gabriel.
I owed Gabriel so much for the money he provided me with. He put a roof over my head and kept me fed.
Then there was Jared. A blank page. He was so interesting and shared my passion of art.

Who did I want to be with?

I walked out of his castle-like house and called for a cab. To my delight a car seemed to be close by and came after just a couple of minutes to pick me up.

*

When Gabriel came home my stomach was in knots. I felt so ashamed and guilty for sleeping with Jared as I saw Gabriel's face.
"Hi Mandy," he said shyly. I guess he was still wondering if I was mad about yesterday.

That second I decided to forgive Gabriel for hitting me. He had made a mistake but so had I.
I flung my arms around his neck and gave him a squeeze. He returned the hug, nuzzling his nose into the crook of my neck.
The makeup was washed off of my face and I had changed into something a lot more comfortable than a dress. Which means jeans and a T-shirt.

"You smell like a man," Gabriel stated when he pulled away. I felt panic creeping up in my body, turning my pulsating blood to ice in a heartbeat. It was the smell of Jared's musky perfume that had clung to my body.
"I took some of your perfume," I lied.

Gabriel raised his eyebrows. "I can't recall buying something with that smell. Which one?" he asked suspiciously.

Shit, I had to say something quickly before he figured out what was really going on. "Ehm," I started, "the one from Armani in that red bottle."
Gabriel owned a perfume like that. I remembered seeing it next to his shaving gel on the sink.

Gabriel crossed his arm over his chest and bit his lip. "That perfume doesn't smell like you do right now," he stated coldly.

"Don't you know that the smell of a perfume can vary from person to person?" I stuttered, trying desperately to sound secure and cocky. Needless to say I failed quite miserably.
The thing about the perfume was true though. I had read it in Cosmopolitan once.

Gabriel shrugged it off. "Whatever. We need to talk about what happened yesterday, Mandy."

Yes, we did. But if he knew more about my day he might have wanted to talk about today as well.