Tears of a Clown Read online

  Darcy couldn’t take the teasing. Her heart was racing and her knees felt weak. Enough of the soft barely there kisses! She wanted more. She wanted passion, heat, animalistic growling.

  Before Judd could get her out of the door, she tugged on the arm holding her. He stopped and turned, looking at her curiously. Surprising even herself, she pushed his hot body up against the wall. He glanced down at her, eyes wide. Before he could say anything, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to meet hers. Their lips met with an inferno of ardor Darcy didn’t know she had in her.

  Judd, immediately over his shock, crushed her body to his. It was a good thing he was holding on tight because when his tongue entered her mouth, Darcy thought she would die right then and there. As a kid she had always thought French Kissing looked so gross. Who wanted someone else’s tongue in their mouth? She could finally see the appeal and would be up for taking a bath in Judd’s saliva, so long as he was there to watch.

  As their tongues continued their mating ritual, Darcy felt Judd’s big hot hands move up her shirt. Her own hands were tugging, pulling on his hair, keeping him close to her. As he deftly unhooked her bra, she became aware of just how excited he was. The shock made her pull back a little and glance down between their heaving chests. Did the boy keep a flashlight down his pants?! Judd grinned as he noticed her noticing his package.

  “I told you I wasn’t exaggerating,” he said before resuming the conquering of her senses. Her head clouded again as his kisses moved to her ear lobe and then to her neck. She leaned her head back to give him better access. He followed her lead, beginning to lick and nibble his way down. As his hands came around to caress the sides of her breasts, Darcy’s logical side momentarily kicked in. She couldn’t believe she was letting a guy she barely knew feel her up and practically hump her in her family’s kitchen.

  Those thoughts fled as soon as she felt a hand moving from her side to the front, very close to one of the danger zones. She realized how much she wanted him to touch her there. Like a brazen trollop, she grabbed the hand and moved it into position, closing her eyes and moaning when he finally touched her there.

  Her eyes flew open seconds later when she heard, over their ragged breathing, the sound of the front door opening. It cleared her head instantly, as if she had been doused with cold water.

  “Shit!” she hissed. “You need to leave. Now!”

  Judd was too far gone to hear her. She wretched his hands off of her and hauled him to the kitchen door.

  “Get out!” she said as loud as she dared, giving him a good shove. She slammed the door behind him, just in time.

  “Darcy?” her step-mother called out as she rounded the corner to enter the kitchen. Darcy pulled her shirt down and was smoothing her hair when her step-mom appeared, a bag in her hand.

  “Yeah?” she answered, hoping she didn’t sound out of breath. Her step-mom stopped and looked her over.

  “Did I just hear the kitchen door slam?” Darcy nodded her head.

  “I uhh needed some air.” The woman her dad had married looked skeptical at first, but then her expression changed to one of concern.

  “Your cheeks are awfully red. Why don’t you come sit down? I was at work when I realized we hadn’t done food shopping yet this week and that there’d be nothing for you to eat.” Darcy, surprised by the woman’s thoughtfulness, sat in a chair.

  As her step-mom was dishing out something from a Styrofoam container, Darcy heard the distinctive sound of a motorcycle revving.

  “Please just drive away. Please Please. Please,” she thought.

  “Doesn’t that sound like it’s right out front?” her step-mother asked, spoon stopped in midair

  “Nahh. Bikes are really loud. It’s probably halfway down the road already.” Her step-mom nodded her head.

  “You’re probably right. I hope it’s not one of the neighborhood kids though. Your father hates those things. I think if either of you girls tried to date someone who had one, he’d ground you for life before letting you go out with the boy.”

  Darcy bit her tongue, hard. She guessed she wouldn’t be introducing Judd to the family anytime soon. That was probably for the best. For the moment, she didn’t know if she could be around him without trying to jump his bones.

  A cool hand to her forehead brought her out of her thoughts.

  “Darcy you’re burning up!” Darcy looked up and blinked a couple of times. Her step-mother helped her stand. “The food can wait. Why don’t you go take a cool shower and I’ll bring you some lunch and medicine to your room.”

  Darcy left the kitchen, her heart still pounding erratically. Between the make-out session and then almost getting caught, a cold shower was exactly what Darcy needed.

  The cold water pelted her hot skin like stinging needles. She endured the tortuous sensation until goosebumps rose all over her body like a case of hives. As she turned the tap off, she heard a blood curdling scream. Stumbling out of the tub, she threw a towel around her cold wet body and sped out the door.

  Dashing down the hall, struggling to keep her towel on, Darcy noticed her bedroom door standing open.

  “Oh shit,” she said under her breath. She scrunched her eyes closed and took a deep breath before stepping into her sanctuary. Her step-mother glared at her.

  “What have you done?!” Darcy calmly walked over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of sweats and her favorite ICP t-shirt.

  “My dad said I could decorate it any way I wanted.” Hands on her hips, the older woman huffed.

  “I am sure he did not mean that you could do this graffiti garbage all over the walls!” Darcy turned her back to the other woman and drew the t-shirt over her head and the towel.

  “It’s not garbage, it’s art.”

  “We’ll see about that young lady. I don’t expect your father to be happy with this.” Darcy stepped into her sweats and wriggled them up under the towel, successfully covering herself. She whipped the towel off, proud she had been able to dress without flashing her step-mom. Turning around, she crossed her arms over her chest to hide the fact that she was braless.

  “What’s the worse he’s going to do, tell me to paint over it? No big deal, I’ll just paint the walls black.” It seemed logical to Darcy. Her step-mother gaped like a fish out of water.

  “I will not have a devil worshiper living under my roof!” Darcy’s head snapped back at the forcefulness of the woman’s words. Anger rolled in and sarcasm flooded her mouth. She could either spit it out or choke on it and it wasn’t her day to die.

  “Jesus lady, if I was a Satanist, your dog’s entrails would be like party streamers hanging from my ceiling and his skin would be a rug by my bed. Not to mention I wouldn’t be saying Jesus. JesusJesusJesus.”

  Darcy feared she had crossed the line when she saw the woman twitching. Maybe she was having a stroke brought on by anger?

  “It’s no wonder your mother was driven to drink by having you for a child.”

  Darcy reeled as if she had been physically hit. Red flashed in front of her eyes. She took a step forward and her step-mother, obviously seeing the anger, mirrored her by taking one back.

  “Way to hit below the belt, good Christian Samaritan. Now get out of my room before I decide to do some ritualistic hocus pocus on you,” Darcy said, struggling to hold back her rage. Her step-mother practically ran from the room, slamming the door behind her.

  Darcy stalked over and locked the door before making her way back to her bed. She threw herself down and slung an arm over her eyes. The tears came, even though she tried to keep them at bay. For the second time in a very short period, Darcy cried herself to sleep.

  A wave of déjà vu swept over her when she was suddenly awakened by the sound of knocking.

  “Go away stupid faerie dog before I sacrifice you to Beelzebub,” she called out.

  “Darcy. Open this door.” She groaned loudly before swinging her legs out of bed. She would have greatly preferred the barfing dog
over her dad. Glancing at her clock she saw it was 5a.m.

  “What the hell?” She unlocked the door and opened it a crack. Her father stood there fully dressed, two suitcases at his feet. Her jaw dropped.

  “Are you kicking me out?!”

  “What? No. Of course not”

  “Are you running off to join the circus?” Her father smirked at that, but quickly wiped his face clean.

  “No Darcy. Carol and I are going away to Atlanta for the weekend, remember? A honeymoon of sorts.” Darcy vaguely remembered them discussing it over dinner a couple nights ago.

  “Oh,” she said, holding onto the door. Her father was looking at her as if she might snap at any second. He sighed.

  “Can I come in?” Darcy didn’t answer but pulled the door open further to allow him entrance.

  When he stepped inside, his eyes immediately went to her “decorating”. She smacked her forehead forgetting, in the fog of early morning brain, about her walls and the argument they caused the previous afternoon.

  “This isn’t so bad,” he said turning to face her. “The way Carol went on, I expected to see pictures of boiling bunnies and pentagrams.” Darcy rolled her eyes. He surprised her by reaching out to touch her cheek.

  “Your eyes are all puffy and bloodshot. You haven’t picked up a pot habit since we came here, have you?” he teased. She turned away, not wanting him to see she had been crying during the night.

  “She didn’t mean it, you know,” he told her. Darcy remained silent, afraid she would say something snarky if she opened her mouth. “She feels really bad. It was just the heat of the moment and you’re not exactly innocent when it comes to provoking people.”

  She bit her lip at his comment. He sighed again before patting her on the head.

  “Mandy has all the information about where we’ll be. I’ll lift the grounding so you can watch T.V. while we’re gone, but you’re not to leave the house except in case of an emergency, understand?” She nodded her head but refused to look at him.

  Darcy heard her dad shuffle towards the door. When the sound stopped, she turned, thinking he was gone. Instead he was standing in the doorway, looking at her, his eyes sad and tired. She flushed.

  “I know the move and the marriage hasn’t been easy on you Darcy, but it could be a lot easier, for all of us, if you just tried.” Before she could respond, he picked up the suitcases and left her standing there, drowning in guilt.

  She stood rooted to the spot until she heard the front door slam. Miserable was an understatement about how she felt. She wasn’t a bad kid, she was just…troubled lately. Hopefully things would settle down and go back to normal soon.

  Darcy crawled back into bed, drawing the covers up over her head. It was too early to be up on a Saturday, but she had slept half the day away on Friday. Closing her eyes, she willed herself to go back to sleep. After forty minutes of trying, she said screw it and decided to check out the Saturday morning cartoons.

  Steaming mug of coffee in hand, bowl of cereal —with milk— on the table and Darcy was ready to immerse herself in the Technicolor wonder of children’s programing. As she flipped through the channels, depression set in.

  “What is this shit? Where are the *good* cartoons?”

  “That’s an oxymoron,” a voice replied. Not needing to turn around Darcy bit back.

  “I’m surprised you even know that word. I mean the moron part I could understand…” Mandy smacked the back of Darcy’s head.

  “Owww.”

  “Why do you always have to be such a bitch?” her step-sister asked coming to stand between Darcy and the T.V..

  “Hey! You started it.”

  “Whatever.” Mandy rolled her eyes. “I’m glad you’re up. That saves me from having to enter the Demon Spawn’s bedroom to wake you. I didn’t want to be turned into a newt or anything.”

  “You’d get better…” Darcy mumbled trying to keep a straight face.

  “What?”

  “Never mind,” Darcy said waving her hand. “What do you want and why the hell are you up so early?” Mandy sat on the corner of the coffee table, crossing her legs like Sharon Stone.

  “I need you to do something for me.” Darcy’s eyes narrowed.

  “Batting your lashes doesn’t work for me. Chicks aren’t my bag.” Mandy rolled her eyes again. Darcy thought it was funny they had that gesture in common.

  “I am not trying to seduce you. Trust me, I have more boys knocking at my door than I can handle. I don’t need sad sack clowns too.” Darcy clenched her fists.

  “Yeah, I saw how well you were doing with that under the stairs the other day.” Mandy flushed and dropped her eyes. Darcy felt bad for the dig. Her tongue was really going to get her into serious trouble one day. She sighed

  “So what did you need?” Mandy’s head shot up, a big smile on her face.

  “I’m up early because we have an afternoon game today and I have practice before. Can you do a little cleaning while I’m gone?” Darcy raised an eyebrow. Suspicious request was suspicious.

  “Why?” Mandy gave her another smile. Darcy cringed. She looked like the cat who swallowed the canary.

  “Well, we always have a party after an afternoon game since we have the time to go home, rest up and then get ready. Since our house is free of parents for the weekend and you’re not allowed to go anywhere, I figured I’d bring the party to you. That way, if I’m asked later, I don’t have to lie and say you didn’t go out.” Both eyebrows went up. Darcy was surprised. While she didn’t think Mandy was doing it all for her, it was nice of her to include her new step-sister. A thought popped into Darcy’s head.

  “Will uhh…Will Judd or Chaz be coming?” Mandy shrugged her slim shoulders.

  “They both know about it but who knows if they’ll show. They kind of hate each other now so if one hears the other is going, they normally stay away.” Darcy nodded. She could tell there was no love lost between the two hot guys.

  “So, will you do it?”

  “I suppose it wouldn’t kill me to do a little cleaning,” Darcy relented. Mandy jumped up clapping her hands like a Barbie who was just told Ken’s underwear wasn’t melted on. She turned to leave the room.

  “Oh, one more thing,” Mandy said stopping to face Darcy again.

  “What’s that?”

  “If you want me to keep quiet about the party and the real reason why you got suspended, you need to let me dress you and do your makeup tonight.” Darcy shot up, spilling hot coffee all over her lap.

  “No way!” Mandy shrugged her shoulders again and put on a sad face.

  “Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to tell your dad that Judd was here yesterday afternoon.” Darcy dropped the coffee mug along with her jaw.

  “How do you know about that?!” Mandy smirked.

  “I have my ways.” Darcy took a threatening step towards the blonde. Mandy threw her hands up in surrender.

  “He cornered me yesterday morning and said he heard you were suspended. I just filled him in, mentioning you were home alone. Right before lunch, I saw him leaving the grounds on his bike. I might be blonde but I can put two and two together.” Darcy sunk back down onto the couch, her head in her hands.

  “Do you think anyone else knows?”

  “Like who? Chaz?” Darcy nodded her head.

  “No worries, I don’t think anyone else knows. Besides, even if someone heard something, who’d think it was true? He’s more than a bit out of your league.”

  “Gee thanks Mandy. You sure know how to make a girl feel good.”

  “Not my job to build you up, buttercup. I’ve got to jet. Someone will be by with a keg later. See ya.” She bounded out of the room leaving Darcy alone with her soggy cereal and crappy cartoons.

  Darcy set to cleaning house. Luckily, the chores coincided with the things her father had asked her to do so at least she was following his instructions. Belatedly, she realized she’d be doing the work twice over since they would surely need to do major clea
nup to remove party evidence. A tortured groan sought its way out of her mouth.

  Despite the double duty, she couldn’t help but be a little excited and nervous. High school parties, especially with the popular crowd, weren’t things she had been involved with in Detroit. In fact, she couldn’t recall being invited to a single party, popular folks or not, since she got into high school. It could be fun…or it could be akin to having her toe nails ripped off with rusty pliers..

  On top of everything else, Darcy was worried about not being able to hide behind her makeup. Concern about being turned into something she’s not was making her stomach hurt. Hopefully Mandy could be talked into some kind of compromise. A happy medium. She crossed her fingers and made a mental wish.

  Around 3:30p.m. there was a knock at the door. Darcy looked down at herself and groaned. She was a sweaty, greasy, dirty mess. Chores do not equal a clean body... The knock came again, more insistently.

  “I’m coming! Geez have some patience people.”

  She threw the sponge she had been using into the sink and pushed red strands behind her ears. Again the knock came, sounding as if someone was trying to break the door down. She grabbed the knob and yanked the door open.

  “Are you deaf? I said I was coming!” She found herself face to face with a dented metal barrel.

  “Sorry, this is heavy. Can I come in?” a voice came from behind the keg. Darcy hurried to step out of the way, pulling the door open further as she went.

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry.” The barrel shuffled in and she closed the door. The keg carrier’s back looked familiar: broad shoulders, artfully tousled golden dirty blond hair, great ass.

  “-can I put this?”

  “What? I’m sorry I was uhh distracted,” she said, the flush rising.

  “Where can I put this?” the back asked.

  “Oh. OH! Sorry. Come into the kitchen, there’s a tub we’re going to fill with ice.” Darcy guided boy and barrel into the kitchen. She stood back to admire his ass some more as he deposited the metal container into the blue plastic tub. It really was quite the lovely sight, the ass, not the dull gray keg. She sighed when he stood up and stretched, revealing a thin stretch of tanned back as his shirt rose.