LEVEL 15

PLAYER TWO: FAUNA

We all slept until around noon the next day. Trevor and the band found sofas, reclining chairs, and beds. Remy and I stayed on the bean bag chair, her head resting softly on my chest. Everyone filtered out, waving sleepy goodbyes at their exit. Trevor clutched his workout bag and soccer gear and said he was going to practice, staying over at a friend’s for the night. I wondered if that friend was Mary Jane. If Remy had the same thought, she didn’t seem to mind as she disappeared to the kitchen and returned with a tall stack of blueberry pancakes.

“You cook?” I marveled.

Her perfect lips arched into a half smile. “I do lots of things.”

Butterflies fluttered in my belly as I finished my food. “Oh, I know you do. I’ve experienced it once or twice.”

“Princess, you haven’t experienced half of what I can do.” Remy scooped me off the bean bag in one, effortless movement, picking me up and carrying me to the bedroom. “Do you want this?” she asked, hovering over me as I laid back on my elbows, my body on fire with the promise of her.

I nodded. “So badly.”

Remy pulled off her shirt, revealing a black sports bra, perfect six-pack abs, and intricate tattoos covering every inch of exposed skin from shoulders to hips.

“You’re perfect,” I breathed in awe.

Taking my hand, she helped me sit and pulled off my shirt, tossing it to the floor. Her hands slowly caressed the fabric of my bra before reaching around and unhooking it. The feel of the cool air on my bare skin mixed with the heated desire in Remy’s gaze. I think I realized in that moment that it was the first time I’d been naked in front of someone and didn’t feel ashamed. Remy made me feel like the most beautiful thing in existence—and that feeling was so liberating.

She moved to my waistband, tugging off both my skirt and panties and dropping them to the floor before standing back and crossing her arms. Her stormy eyes roamed my skin more intimately than any physical touch from anyone ever had. “You… There aren’t words, Fauna.”

Sitting up, I pressed my breasts to her stomach as I thumbed the waistband of her sweatpants. “Pants off?” I asked, liking the way she inhaled at just the brush of my hands.

She titled her chin in a yes. “You can take off my pants, but I’ll be the one fucking you.”

“Is that what you like?” I asked as she kicked off the bundle of fabric. “You like being the giver? Do you ever receive?”

“My pleasure comes from getting you off. I do the touching.” She leaned forward and whispered in my ear, “You do the coming…over and over and over and over again.”

“What if I want more than that?” I asked, lightly brushing my lips over hers. “What if I want to feel you too?”

“In that case…we scissor.”

I pulled back and caught her gaze. “Like we did in the game? You know, I’ve never done that before…but I’ve always wanted to.”

“Other than that, sports bra and boxers stay on.” She bit at my neck, intensifying the tingles traveling down my body. “And you…” She pushed me abruptly onto the mattress. “Lay on that pretty little back for me. I already know you’re good at it.”

Warmth fluttered to my core as I reclined, surrendering control. Did I like being in charge, or did I just feel like I always had to be? Did I like giving, or did I just feel like it was selfish not to? Remy took both of those worries away from me, and that felt really, really nice.

I didn’t want to be in charge anymore. I was tired of being in charge.

Her palms were rough and electrifying as they landed on my knees and spread them apart. “No fighting against me, princess. You just lay there just like that. See? You’re so good at it for me. Spread your legs wide and let me see that dripping wet, gorgeous pussy.”

“Fuck, Remy,” I breathed. “You’re just teasing me now.”

Her smirk alone could have sent me over the edge. “I’m just taking my time. You’ve teased me every day since you picked my brother and not me. You should have chosen me from the beginning, you know. I would have kept you safe and made you come.” She dropped to her knees, blowing warm air over my wanting center. “Tell me you fucked up. Tell me you wish it had been me from the beginning and not my idiot twin.”

“I didn’t think you knew I existed.” My words came out on gasps of breath as I waited for her mouth. “Of course, I probably should have asked you to fake date me instead.”

“Yeah, only then, there wouldn’t have been anything fake about it, princess.” The first swipe of her tongue against my aching slit made me cry out from the agony of anticipation. “You were mine the moment I saw you.”

“Yes,” I breathed, raking my fingers through Remy’s hair. “You’re ruining me.”

“Good,” she murmured into my pussy. “You’re mine.” The hard metal of her tongue ring and lip hoops alternated with the soft fire of her mouth over my clit. My climax shuddered through me. I didn’t realize my hips were moving so hard, chasing after more of her, until she held them down firmly atop the bed as she followed after my second orgasm.

When Remy and her various piercings and rings of metal had their fill, she crawled on top of me. I instantly found her lips, tasting her kiss mixed with the orgasms she’d earned from my wanting body. “We taste nice together,” I whispered as she toyed with my nipples.

“We do,” she agreed, dropping her lips to take my nipple into her mouth. I gasped at the feel of the barbell flicking against my breast. While she sucked, her other hand sank between my legs, swirling the wetness that pooled there for her.

My back arched as two fingers slipped inside me. “You feel so good,” I moaned into her kiss.

Remy’s breath was heavy as she watched me from hooded eyes. “You’re a wiggly, greedy little pillow princess, aren’t you? So desperate for my touch.”

“I am,” I agreed, moving hips, my clit searching for that perfect brush of her palm.

Breaking our kiss, her eyes roamed my body while her fingers pumped in and out. “I want to watch as you come in my hand. Come on, pretty girl. Where’s my next orgasm? Is it here?” Her thumb moved to flick my aching clit as her fingers pushed deeper inside me.

She groaned along with me as I screamed through yet another release. My body felt both limp and super charged, wanting more and more. No amount of Remy would ever be enough for me. Somehow, she understood me both emotionally and physically in a way no one ever had. My body and my heart both responded to her in extraordinary ways.

Remy bit along my collarbone, getting on top of me. My fingers grabbed her hair, rubbing along her shoulders and down the muscles of her strong arms.

“We aren’t finished here,” she said, voice laced with rough desire. “Take off my boxers.”

My fingers fidgeted with the thick strap of her sports bra. “Are you sure?”

She scoffed. “Am I sure I want to scissor-fuck you? Yeah, I’m fucking sure.”

I giggled, doing what I was told and reaching down, sliding Remy’s black boxers down her hips. Remy purred, “Good girl.” She pulled up my knee and positioned her leg over mine as she leaned back over top of me, our bodies hovering between promises of both sexual and intimate touch. “Beg for it,” she demanded between kisses. “Beg for me to fuck you like this.”

God, it was hard to form words around her when I wasn’t out of breath and feeling like I’d been hit by lightning. In that moment, it was damn near impossible to form complete sentences. “Please,” I pushed out. “Please, please, fuck me, Remy.”

The low growl from her throat rivaled the sensuality of the first brush of her hips as they pressed against mine. My arms wrapped around her neck, and I began to move my hips in time with her tempo, our bodies falling together. I’d never felt so close to another human before. The feel of her rough hand skimming down my ribs, holding me, guiding me, pulsing against me in hard passion and soft tenderness—a balance Remy never failed to find and master. Our moans were one, the air from our breathing making it so I didn’t know where she began and I ended. And begin and end we did, over and over again. Our orgasms melted into each other in a beautiful, strung-out moment of scissor-bliss.

I’d been missing out.

I’d been missing out on so much.

Days melted together in blissful togetherness. The following weekend, Remy laced her fingers with mine. “Come here. I have a surprise for you in the bathroom.”

A chair sat in front of the sink, and various bottles of brushes lined the counter above the faucet. “What is this?” I asked as she directed me to sit.

“We have to fix one majorly important thing before my show tonight. I know you dyed your hair to fit some sort of weird-ass, rich asshole beauty standard to impress my parents. And because you don’t ever need to do that…I’ve gathered every color imaginable so I can set that right. What do you think?”

My heart warmed and my throat tightened. “You want to dye my hair?”

Remy rubbed her neck, her bicep flexing and distracting me. “Look, if you like the sad blonde, that’s fine. But I’ve always liked all your colorful, pinkie-pie-princess flair.”

In stunned silence, I shook my head in disbelief. Remy saw me, understood me, accepted me… This sort of relationship was so new to me, I didn’t have words.

Worried by my reserve, she picked up the bottles. “We have Icy Blue Chill, Electric Green, Citrus Orange, Remy’s Princess Forever Pink …”

I giggled. “Well, I know which one you like.”

She shrugged. “Pink suits you.”

“It does,” I agreed as I leaned my head back on the sink. “Get to work, Mall Rat.”

After strapping on gloves, she massaged the pigment through my hair. Instead of closing my eyes, I watched her in quiet concentration. My mind memorized the glint of her lip rings, and my core warmed in remembrance of how they felt pricking across my sensitive center.

“I think I want a piercing too. Would you pierce me?” I asked as Remy rinsed my hair and bundled it in a towel.

“See if you like your hair first before trusting me to stab holes through your body.”

With a grin, I dried my hair and pulled off the towel, admiring the bright pink in the mirror. “It’s perfect.”

Remy wrapped her arms around me from behind, and we stared at each other. Her tattoos, dark hair, and muscles were a lovely contrast to my rosy makeup and wet fuchsia shag. “We’re perfect,” she whispered in my ear, giving my pearl earring a tug with her lips. “Look at us.”

“I’m nothing,” I breathed, the air hitching in my throat.

Remy flicked her tongue down the curve of my neck. “It is now my personally-appointed side-quest to remind you every single day of how fucking gorgeous you are, princess.”

From the mirror’s reflection, I caught just how bright my face reddened. It was embarrassing for my cheeks to match my hair, so my gaze landed back on Remy’s perfect kisses.

She murmured into my neck, “Lean back into me and keep looking in the mirror.”

“I don’t want to watch myself— I want to watch you ,” I argued weakly as Remy’s palm slid down my middle.

“Funny, I didn’t ask what you wanted, did I? Who said this is for you, princess?” My shoulders we tense, and I tried to straighten, but she pulled me tightly against her before propping her foot against the sink—pinning me in. “Where do you think you’re going?” Her hand flitted under the waistband of my panties.

“You’re terrible,” I said without conviction, my arousal already evident between my thighs.

Remy’s chuckle was dark as her index finger slipped between my slit. I gasped at the feel of it against my sensitive wetness. “We can’t be late for your show,” I reminded as she began making lazy circles around my clit.

“Let me worry about that, princess. Let me worry about everything. In fact, I demand you give me each and every one of your fears and anxieties. They’re mine, just like you’re mine. Got it?”

I swallowed a gasp as her hand lowered to my opening, teasing me gently. She pulled tightly against my chest before her other hand found my chin, pulling my face up and forcing me to look in the mirror at the erotic scene before me.

“Nod if you understand?” She purred in my ear while pinching the sides of my jaw.

Words evaded me as I jerked a nod.

“Such a good girl for me.”

Maybe we could be a little late. Rock stars were never on time anyway, right?

My gaze drifted to Remy’s inked arms and the way her shoulders enveloped mine. Her voice broke my trance again. “Eyes on you, princess.” Her grip tugged my chin upward again. Before I could resist, two fingers plunged inside me, fast and deep.

I cried out, watching my expression turn from heated curiosity to raw desire.

“Yeah.” Remy half smiled. “See how fucking hot you are with me inside you?”

My hips rocked against her hand as her fingers moved, my wetness pooling around her rough knuckles. God, her touch was everything I never knew I needed.

Each time her two middle fingers buried inside me, her palm tapped and rubbed against my clit. The sensation of having her hit my deepest center, my wetness sliding against her hand, watching my red cheeks, my parted lips, and her strong arms holding me in place…

“There we go,” Remy taunted. “Your pussy is tightening around me. You want to come so bad, don’t you?”

I nodded, feeling the build of my orgasm climb higher and higher. My gaze fell, watching her knuckles as they moved up and down, her fingers thrusting inside me. She stilled, halting her movements. “If you stop looking at yourself in the mirror, I stop fucking you.”

“That’s so mean,” I whined, taking the opportunity to turn and catch her lips with mine. Her kiss sucked me in like it always did, pulling me out of my head and into her orbit. She held good to her word and didn’t move an inch as I kissed her, leaving her fingers firmly buried inside me. My pussy fluttered around her digits, as if I could coax them to move, but I knew she wouldn’t, not until I turned to watch myself again. “This is cruel punishment,” I whispered before facing the mirror again.

“Your pouting is cute,” Remy said, leaning her face against mine. “Want to come now, princess?”

I nodded as her fingers began moving slowly again, building me back up even faster now that she’d edged me into oblivion. “Please. Yes, please.”

Remy groaned. “Fuck, you’re such a good girl, Fauna.” Picking up the pace, she steadily fell back into the same thrust and plunge of her fingers. Her wrist flicked against my clit just as stars enveloped my vision.

I watched as my mouth fell open on a moan and my back arched against her. My hips dipped through, one, two, three orgasmic waves of release, each climax taking me past my peak of ecstasy. Remy watched with hooded eyes, still fucking me, drinking in my whimpers and holding my head upright so I could watch the whole spectacle. When I was used up, sated, and wilted against my girlfriend, she withdrew her fingers slowly and brought them to her lips. Closing her eyes, she sucked each one clean, licking around the base, devouring the cum that clung to her skin.

“Fuck, you’re delicious. Let’s do that again.” Remy spun me and wrapped her arms around my waist, kissing my cheeks, forehead, and neck until I giggled.

“No way,” I laughed. “We have to get going, or you’re going to be late-late, not just rock-god-late.”

Remy raised a dark, pierced eyebrow and stuck out her lower lip. I nipped at her lip rings softly. “Come on, you know I think you’re sexy when you’re playing drums.”

“I’d like to fuck you on my drums.”

“Maybe that can be arranged.”

Actually, I wasn’t sure if that was physically possible, but the promise of sex and mischief was enough to get her out the door at a somewhat reasonable time. We stopped by my place, and I changed quickly, but Remy insisted I take my time to do my makeup just the way I wanted it. I groaned at her extra bossy behavior but, deep down, I was thankful for the time— no, the permission to paint my face the way I wanted.

“My inspiration for the night is…a flushed fox,” I declared as I exited my room. Remy smiled and twirled her finger, motioning for me to spin.

As I did, she whistled low. “My girl is so fine.”

I gave her a soft kiss. “You are.”

We arrived at the venue to a line wrapped around the building. Girls screamed for Remy as we walked by. She laced her fingers with mine and pulled me close as we skipped the line and were stopped by the bouncers.

“We’re with the band,” Remy told them.

A large man held out a basket. “No shit. We know who you are. You play the drums like a machine. Anyway, it’s a phone-free concert. Venue request for this show.”

“Are you kidding me?” Remy fished her phone from her pocket, and I did the same.

We made to walk past the guy when he stopped us again, gesturing to me. “Headphones too. Those look electronic.”

Panic tightened my chest, and I opened my mouth to speak, but Remy stepped in front of me protectively. “The headphones stay, or I don’t play. What would the venue overlords think of that?”

The man lowered his brows and finally huffed a sigh, jerking his thumb and gesturing for us to go ahead.

“Thanks,” I squeezed her hand.

Remy kissed my forehead. “Trev should be here somewhere. Sure as hell won’t be able to find him without a phone, though. Want to come hang out backstage where it’s less chaotic? You can watch us from back there if you want?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m going to be your groupie in the crowd tonight.”

With a skeptical glance, she conceded and went backstage. A big part of me wanted to go back there with her. Being hidden away sounded nice— but it wasn’t what I’d be doing that night.

The place was packed. When the Mall Ratz came on stage, the crowd roared with excitement. Remy counted down the beat with her drumsticks above her head, and in perfect time with her symbol crash— the band played. Joss, Lennon, and Rollo were all on point, and my heart was beating with pride as I watched them get all the love and recognition they deserved.

But at the same time, I knew my new friends well enough to know they were rocking just as hard at fifteen year old mall birthday parties. They were just good people, and that, mixed with their talent, was why they really deserved a sold-out show.

Remy was playing their most drum forward song, and it was my chance to sneak out of her line of sight.

PINK FOX MODE: ACTIVATE

Trevor was near a staff entrance by the doors, right where we had planned to meet. We’d exchanged emails over the week and, luckily, he was down for one more game with me.

“We got the goods,” he said, sipping a frozen umbrella drink.

“She’s here?” My heart sank in both trepidation and triumph. “Wait, is that a strawberry daiquiri?”

“Want a sip?”

“That is the girliest drink ever,” I teased.

“You’ve been hanging out with Remy too much. I’m secure in my masculinity. And drinks aren’t gendered— stop conforming to the patriarchy, Faun.”

I took a sip of the drink, letting the faint tang of alcohol steel my nerves. A horrible realization sprang to mind. “You talked to Chet about the passcode?”

“Yeah, I basically threatened to report him and his extracurriculars to our coach if he didn’t comply. The passcode is deactivated.”

My shoulders relaxed slightly. “Have you seen her?”

“No, not yet. What me stay with you?”

I shook my head. “No, I got this.”

After sneaking to the back room, I found the basket I was looking for, containing the purple-encased device I was after. Chet did something right in getting the passcode off. When the screen illuminated, I paused. The background wallpaper was… It didn’t matter. Quickly, I did what I came to do, though I was tempted to do more: to snoop more, delete more, check messages and texts…but I didn’t.

Once I was back in the crowd, thinking I was safe, someone tapped the back of my shoulder.

Prue pursed her lips. “Which Monroe twin are you fucking tonight, Fauna? Everyone knows you’re the town whore. Cheating on Trevor is bad enough. Cheating with his sister… That’s low, even for you. The whole university is talking about it.”

“I’m sure you’ve told them all about it.” Run. Hide. Crank the noise-canceling on your headphones. Cry. My brain screamed its habitual impulses.

Prue held a hand to her chest. “I’m just looking out for everyone. They have a right to know you’re a liar and a cheat. Really, Fauna, why are you even here tonight? Do you really think someone like Remy would be interested in you for long?”

My heart twitched in momentary doubt. Why did Remy even like me? I couldn’t be sure, but I knew without a doubt that she did, and it was real. What I’d had with Trevor was fake. What I had with Remy was real.

“Have you logged on to V for Valin lately? Your little trick didn’t work,” I said, noticing the small twitch of her eye.

She crossed her arms. “Doesn’t matter. Do you really think I don’t have it saved to my phone? You really aren’t that smart, are you?”

“Oh, I am smart, Prue.” I gestured around the show. “The phone-free night? That was me. I’m not afraid of you anymore. I have real friends now, a girlfriend, and a group of people who accept me for who I am. People who aren’t gathering intel to use against me when I piss them off. Friends who would never strand me in a vulnerable situation and then use it to destroy me when I walked away. I hope you can heal, Prue. I hope you can experience and offer someone that kind of friendship someday. But from now on? You’re done fucking with me.”

My ex-friend huffed a breath, and something like sadness swept her gaze. Part of me wanted to feel sorry for her, forgive her…The other part knew an apology would never be offered, and even if it were, forgiveness wasn’t something I could give her, not after the damage she’d done. No, Prue’s punishment would be never having access to me again. I would be the background on her phone, the memories of a real friend lingering in her mind, but I would move on and forget her entirely, like a bad dream that slowly faded away the longer you were awake.

I’d offered Prue a safe morning, and all she had to give was a bad night. The nights that bled into mornings I’d spent playing that game I used to love, a game she turned into something hateful. All the school functions and events I’d avoided so I didn’t have to see her. The things I wanted to do but didn’t because I was afraid of being seen, afraid she’d knock me down… That was all over now.

A familiar arm wrapped around my shoulder as Remy gave my temple a sweaty kiss. “Hey, baby.” She looked Prue up and down. “Hey, Cruella. Here to steal some more kittens for a fur coat?”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing as Prue’s face contorted through the many stages of acceptance and defeat. “Whatever. This is so stupid,” she declared. “You two deserve each other.”

Remy swooped me in for a dip kiss, and I squealed as her lips met mine. “I agree with her about that,” Remy said into my lips. “And wow, you’re really hot when you’re telling that bitch off.”

“You caught that?”

“Just the last bit— but damn.” Remy looked around. “Where’d she go? Do it again, you clever, sly, pink little fox.”

I laughed. “I never want to think about her ever again, and now, I don’t have to.”

“Do I have to think about you and Trev scheming behind my back for the rest of my life? Phone-free show? Genius.”

I smiled. “Only the nicest little schemes, I promise.”

Remy was twenty-three and I was twenty-one, yet somehow, the rest of our lives didn’t sound so long or so bad when she said it. We fit. Prue was right about something; we were made for each other.

Remy kissed my cheek before returning to the stage for a crowd-demanded encore. Trevor and I screamed and cheered for the band, laughing, smiling, soaking in the noise and chaos that was the edgy Monroe twin. Somehow, within the hilarity and drama of fake dating one twin while falling for the other, I’d maintained a friendship with both.

Trevor felt like a brother. Remy felt like my soulmate. We were a trio now, and I knew they had my back and I had theirs.

I’d found acceptance from blue slushy spills and arcade games to nursing home break ins and all-nighter video-game-athons. Remy had spun into my life with covert cyber-sex and banter…while simultaneously challenging my beliefs that I was too awkward, too weird, and too difficult to love. With her, I felt like being myself was perfect. Because she was perfect for me.