Read Online Control by M. S. Willis - Free Book Online Page A

opened the cabinet, pulled out
a cup and placed it on the counter.  The pot was only a quarter of the way
full by the time I turned to check it and I inwardly groaned at its slow
pace.  I worked on my mixture of sugar and creamer and then placed the
half-filled cup next to the machine.
    David
walked in behind me and let out a loud yawn as he stretched out his slim
frame.  He padded over to where I was standing and eyed the machine with
me.
    “How
long have you been waiting so far?”
    I
turned my glare to him and then huffed out a breath.  “Three minutes.”
    “Too
long,” David commented.
    “Agreed.”
    He
started tapping his fingers beside mine.  “We need a faster machine.”
    After
five more agonizing minutes, the machine graciously beeped indicating the coffee
was ready.  I filled my cup to the rim and then handed the pot to
David.  While he poured the contents into his cup, I stirred together my
drink.  We silently walked into the living room together, set our cups on
the table and plopped down in unison on the couch.  The couch slightly
tipped backwards from catching our combined weight.
    We
drank our coffee in silence for a few minutes and then David spoke.
    “Sooooo…how
was last night?  Did you have a good time?”
    I
groaned and rested my head in my hands.  I looked back up at David and
gave him a small smile.
    “Last
night was not so good.  I think I might have to avoid Tomb for a while,
which sucks, because they always have the best music.”
    David
gave me a questioning look and then his eyes brightened and he smiled.
    “Did
you have a drunken liaison by any chance?”  He paused then nudged my
shoulder with his. “Because, if so, you are going to have to give me all the
naughty details so I can live vicariously through you.”  He shook his
eyebrows up and down.
    I chuckled
and shook my head.  “I wish man.  But unfortunately it was nothing as
fun as that.” 
    David
raised one eyebrow in question and I spilled.
    “Ok,
the band was heavy last night and the pit got a little rough.  I was
standing in my normal spot by the speakers, but I got crushed in by the amount
of people who were there last night.”
    David
put up his hand to stop my story.  “So wait, before you go any further,
are you about to tell me that the great and powerful Paige got trampled in the
pit?  If that is, in fact, the case, I will need a moment to openly
gloat.”
    I
glared at him and he laughed.
    “I
didn’t break any bones or fall on my head, if that’s what you’re
thinking.”  He responded to my statement by turning up his nose in fake
disdain.
    “So
anyways, when the crowd started to get too rough and I was having to push back
to keep from being trampled, this guy grabbed me and pulled me up on top of the
speaker.”
    David’s
head quickly turned in my direction.  “Was he hot?”
    I
sighed.  “Yes.  He was gorgeous.  An Adonis actually, and it was
really fucking annoying.”
    David’s
expression remained blank but then he narrowed his eyes at me.  “Explain,”
he commanded.
    “After
pulling me up on the speaker, he called me a ‘damsel in distress’.”
    David’s
mouth formed a silent ‘O’ in understanding.  “Knowing you, Paige, I don’t
see this going well at all.”
    I shook
my head and sighed. “It didn’t.  I asked him not to call me that and
explained my issue with demeaning stereotypes, but he kept calling me that anyway
and then claimed to have rescued me three times last night.”
    “Three
times?”
    “Well,
yeah.  I’m not done.”  I lowered my head and then looked back up at
him. “So after the band stopped playing and the people in the pit were
dispersing, he jumped down and I realized how high off the ground I was...”
    “Oh
dear,” David interrupted.
    “…So
the asswipe tried to help me down but was being all smug because I needed
help.  I refused his help to be spiteful and I eventually had to shimmy my
way down the side, giving him an up