Free Wet: Part 2 by S. Jackson Rivera Page B

alone—you don’t have to sleep with every woman on the planet. Not her.”
    Paul rose up on an elbow, rubbing the jaw on his left side, staring at Rhees. Her reaction appeared to have shocked him. He finally managed to stagger to his feet, about to retaliate, but he had to pull his punch when Rhees frantically threw herself between them. Taylor’s story of Paul almost killing the hobo with his bare hands, Paul telling Mitch he’d killed someone, and flashes of Paul beating Mario—it terrified her, sure that Dobbs, Paul’s friend and hers, was about to receive the beating of his life and all because Dobbs wanted to protect her.
    “Stop it!” she screamed. She turned and tried to bury herself into Paul’s arms, trying to remind him what they were doing. “Let’s go, let’s just go,” she begged.
    “I’m not letting you leave with him,” Dobbs yelled. “I thought you were smarter than that—better than that. You’re too good for him. Don’t be stupid, Rhees.”
    Paul tried to twist away from Rhees and lunge at Dobbs, but she shouted for him to stop again and managed to wrangle herself between them once more. Paul finally took a step back, not wanting to chance hurting her. She turned to Paul and grabbed his shoulders, pleading with him to let it go. She wasn’t sure he was listening, but she didn’t give up. He wouldn’t take his furious eyes off of Dobbs. Dobbs returned the glare, not backing down.
    She didn’t dare let go of Paul, but she turned enough to look at Dobbs. “It’s too late Dobbs. I’m going home with Paul tonight, but it won’t be the first time.”
    There was a collective gasp from the circle of spectators who were inching their way closer, tightening the circle they’d formed around the entertainment.
    Dobbs looked like someone had hit him in the stomach. His surprise quickly changed to rage and he lunged toward Paul again. Paul tried to move Rhees out of the way in an effort to protect her from Dobbs’ attack, but she fought him. It was all he could do to throw his arms around her and turn, hoping to absorb the blow with his shoulder.
    “Stop it!” she screamed again. She started to cry. “It’s not his fault. It was me—he tried to turn me down, but I—”
    “Rhees, don’t,” Paul hissed, knowing what she was trying to do.
    “After Mario tried—” She gulped quick breaths between her sobs. “I didn’t want to be a target anymore. I asked Paul to help me—I begged him.”
    “And he was all too eager to oblige! Rhees, you played right into the bastard’s selfish, conniving hands.” Dobbs pressed his finger into Paul’s chest.
    “No! He said he wouldn’t do it. He said I was just in shock and I should wait a few days, that I’d realize I didn’t really want that. He said he couldn’t take advantage of me that way.”
    Dobbs shook his head. He didn’t believe it.
    “It’s true.” It really was—most of it. “He told me to wait, that I’d change my mind, but I didn’t want to wait. I didn’t want to change my mind.”

    “Enough Rhees,” Paul growled.
    “I took advantage of him. You know he hasn’t let me out of his sight since it happened. He’s been staying at my place, but he’s been a perfect gentleman.”
    “I don’t believe it,” Dobbs said.
    “It’s true,” Tracy blurted. “We saw Paul sleeping on the couch. Then another night, he wasn’t on the couch when Regina and I got home, but the next morning, he was there. He sat in the kitchen and had coffee—half naked—his pants were undone.” For once, Tracy’s big mouth had come in handy.
    “That’s right. He started out on the couch. I waited until he fell asleep.” Rhees reclaimed her story before Tracy hijacked the show completely. “By the time he woke up and realized what I was doing—I don’t think even Christian would have been able to stop.”
    Paul closed his eyes and pursed his lips, not sure if he was angrier with Dobbs or Rhees at the moment.
    “We’ve been