No one’s asked me a question…

Susan was a nice divorcée in her late fifties whom Wayne had met after Claudia Henderson had taken it upon herself to play matchmaker for the quiet duo. All they had needed was a little push to ignite the spark—one magical night playing bridge together at the Hawkins Community Center and it had been love at first sight.

Susan owned a small three-bedroom house in town and since Wayne planned to move in with her after the wedding, Eddie decided he might as well buy the trailer from his uncle and keep living in Forest Hills.

Since graduating from high school, Eddie had been working as an apprentice mechanic at one of the garages in town and had been saving up a little nest egg to get a place of his own someday. Funds were tight, but he was excited at the prospect of living alone after so many years of sharing the small trailer; two grown men cohabiting in such close quarters hadn’t left a lot of room for privacy—or space in general.

But a few weeks after Wayne moved out, a burst pipe put a damper on Eddie’s bachelor pad plans—literally. Left unchecked for hours while he was a work, the gushing water had caused extensive damage to the home, leaving very little that could be restored.

Thankfully, Eddie had been able to rescue his most prized possessions before they were destroyed, including the last few remaining photographs of his mother and his beloved guitars. But with the trailer a total write-off, the unexpected disaster left him very short on funds and with nowhere to go.

Susan and Wayne were super supportive during the ordeal, graciously offering to let him stay with them for as long as he needed. They assured him it was no trouble at all and that their spare bedroom was as good as his until he could find another place and get back on his feet.

As much as Eddie hated to impose on the newlyweds, he took them up on their kind offer of shelter without hesitation. The only problem with the arrangement was Susan’s daughter, Mandy—the former co-captain of Hawkins High’s cheerleading club and Eddie Munson’s number one hater.

Back in high school Eddie and the jocks had never seen eye to eye, incompatible because they came from such different worlds. As a pillar of the cheerleading community, Mandy had been a key figure in the popular crowd aka the nasty crew who’d always had it out for Eddie and his friends. They’d harassed the Hellfire Club members relentlessly, labeling them devil worshipers and freaks. Suffice to say back then there was no love lost between Eddie and his new step-sibling—and not much had changed.

Even though high school was long over, it seemed Mandy had been witness to enough of Eddie’s tabletop rants about the popular kids to hold a grudge.

During much of Wayne and Susan’s short courtship, Eddie and Mandy managed to avoid each other as best they could, aside from a few awkward family get-togethers during which they both politely pretended the other didn’t exist.

On Wayne and Susan’s wedding day they both played nice in front of the cameras and other guests, Mandy’s act so convincing that Eddie started to wonder if maybe she was softening up a bit to the idea of him becoming part of her family. When she willingly wrapped her arm around his shoulders in a group photo and barely grimaced, he let himself imagine that maybe she didn’t actually hate him after all.

But if Mandy hadn’t totally hated him then, she sure did after he showed up on her mother’s front step a few weeks later, duffle bags and guitar cases in tow, invading her home like an unwanted pest.

Things were pretty tense around the house.

She was unnecessarily petty—using up all of the hot water on purpose by taking extravagantly long showers when she knew Eddie was trying to get ready for work. She went out of her way to make him feel unwelcome, scoffing not-quite-under her breath at every word he said and rolling her eyes whenever he tried to make a joke. Then there was the issue of her throwing his D&D notebooks in the trash several times and pretending she had no idea what they were while she watched him fish them out.

“Sorry, I thought they were garbage,” she’d snarl, narrowing her eyes and dragging out the word with a nasty inflection that revealed her intent.

But if it’s true that opposites attract, then every bit of darkness and poison that resided in the depths of Mandy’s soul was destined to be counteracted and soothed by your presence as her best friend.

Pretty in pink and smelling of soft summer rain, hearing you laugh was like listening to an angel who had just recently discovered all the myriad wonders of heaven. Your eyes shimmered like precious jewels that hid a multitude of secrets, and your skin looked so velvety soft and smooth that Eddie couldn’t help but spend an inordinate amount of his time imagining what it would feel like under the weight of his palm or the tips of his fingers.

But good girls like you didn’t get touched by guys like Eddie Munson.

Girls like you wore expensive clothing and perfume and dated well-to-do guys—the boring ones from good family names who drove shiny Beamers and slicked back their hair.

Eddie wasn’t a virgin anymore, he’d hooked up with a couple girls back when he was in his third and final senior year of high school, but he’d never been a boyfriend to anyone before. He’d never been the type of guy someone would fall in love with or want to claim as their own—which didn’t really bother him…most of the time. But when he thinks about it, he can admit it’s kind of funny that he’s had his dick inside someone else, however briefly, but no one has ever wanted to hold his hand.

His memories of the act itself are just a lot of clumsy stumbling half-in and out of clothing and maybe four or five pumps before he came, chest and cheeks burning with the searing shame of it all ending much too fast.

He’s pretty sure things would be different with you if he ever had the chance, which he knows he won’t. He won’t. But still, if he did, it wouldn’t be like it was with those other girls.

For one, he wants to be your boyfriend. Bring you flowers and see you smile when you smell them. Hold your hand and whisper sweet nothings in your ear. He doesn’t have any experience with being in love or relationship stuff but he’s pretty sure he could make you happy if he had the chance.

He’s jerked off while thinking about fucking you so many times that he’s got it down to an art. Usually doesn’t even make it all the way to the sex part of his fantasy before he’s spilling into his hand at just the thought of fingering your pussy.

He imagines you’d be so wet and tight. Regularly edges himself to the point of tears at the just thought of watching you come undone on his hand.

Even though he doesn’t really like to think about it, he wonders if you’ve ever gone all the way with anyone or if you’re still a virgin. Always feels that hot rush of blood scorching through his veins at the thought of other men who might have touched you—which isn’t really fair since he’s touched other people too, even though he wishes he hadn’t. He wishes he’d saved himself so he could dedicate his virgin cock as an eternal sacrifice at the altar of your pussy—not to be dramatic.

You always laugh at all of his jokes.

He’s not used to being around a pretty girl who thinks he’s funny and doesn’t look at him like he’s some kind of radioactive creature who just crawled out of a swamp in search of delicious brains. Instead, you look at him like you know a secret you’re dying to tell. It’s captivating.

You’re sweeter than anyone Eddie’s ever met, exuding a softness he’s never known before in his rough and tumble life. You’re the type of girl who dots her “i’s” with little hearts and smells like cherry lip gloss and spun sugar—the kind of girl he never thought he would want, but he craves you like a sailor craves the dawn.

It doesn’t make sense to him that someone as kind and gentle as you somehow ended up best friends with a heinous beast like Mandy. From what he’s seen of the two of you together, she doesn’t seem to treat you very well. He doesn’t like how she’s always bossing you around and really hates when he hears her talk down to you. How you could ever enjoy being around her is a total mystery to him.

Mandy has informed Eddie many times that he’s never to speak to you or she’ll get him kicked out on the street, but when you’re visiting or having one of your frequent sleepovers, she can’t watch over you every second. When she disappears to use the washroom or goes upstairs to find something in her room, those are the openings Eddie waits for, and he takes advantage of each and every one.

Like during your visit that very afternoon—he’s sitting on the couch playing Nintendo while you and Mandy gossip about your instructors at the college and how you suspect one of them is sleeping with his students in exchange for better grades. Eddie is only half-listening to the scandalous rumors while he focuses on Zelda, but he’s tuned into the sound of your voice the entire time on the off chance you might say something to him.

When Mandy checks her watch and sees that it’s getting late, she excuses herself to go get changed because her boyfriend, Troy, will be arriving soon to take her out to dinner. You opt to stay where you are, telling her that your mother is going to pick you up and will be there any minute.

“I thought she’d never leave,” Eddie jokes as soon as Mandy exits the room. You remain quiet, only giving him a weak half-smile.

He keeps glancing sideways at where you’re sitting on the other end of the long couch, legs crossed in your skirt, the soft material riding up your thighs. He wonders what color panties you’re wearing. Probably pink to match your skirt.

As a result of his distraction he keeps messing up in his game, but if you notice you don’t say anything.

“Cat got your tongue?” he jokes in sly reference to your sweater as he nods his messy head in your direction. Your brows draw together in confusion for a moment before you look down at the embroidered black cat over your left breast then giggle, covering your mouth with your hand for a second to hide your smile.

Recovering after a few seconds, you lick your lips, plush and glossy and perfect. “No, it’s—she said I’m not supposed to talk to you.”

“Do you like having her tell you what to do?” he asks simply without looking up from his game.

“No,” you whisper as if you’re struggling with an inner demon that’s winning. “I just don’t want her to be mad. She’s my best friend…and when she’s mad she can be kind of scary.”

He hums and nods thoughtfully.

“We can talk when she’s not around. She can’t get mad if she doesn’t know,” he suggests, tilting his head to give you a shy grin. “I like talking to you.”

Feeling his cheeks start to burn, he looks back at the screen. But it’s true, he loves your little secret chats when you tell him tidbits about yourself that he gathers like a scavenging crow searching for shiny treasures, tucking them away in his mind’s eye for future use. He’s greedy for each piece of knowledge you give him, every morsel of you that he teases out during those stolen moments when Mandy leaves you alone and he can bask in your presence.

Just then Mandy returns and the mood in the room shifts in an instant. She sounds impatient when she addresses you, hand perched on her hip. “Troy’s outside waiting—I’ve got to go. I thought you said your mom was picking you up.”

“She’s supposed to be here by now.” You shrug, eyes wide and uncertain. “Maybe she got held up at work? It’s ok, you can go. I’ll just wait here.”

Mandy hesitates then nods, narrowing her eyes at Eddie one last time before leaving as if in a final warning for him to stay away from you.

Once she’s gone, you sit in silence watching Eddie play his game for a few minutes before you dare to speak.

“I don’t think my mom is coming. Is it okay if I use your phone to call a cab?”

The idea that you would spend your money for a drive home when he’s sitting right there with a perfectly good van parked outside nearly rocks him to his bones.

“I’ll take you home,” he says with finality. It’s not a question. He has no intention of letting you drive with anyone else.

“Are you sure?” you ask, hope peeking through your voice as if a ride home from him is exactly what you’ve desired all along. “I don’t want to be a bother.”

“You never bother me,” he’s quick to add while shooting you a furtive grin.

And, fuck, he wishes he could tell you how he really feels. How you’re never a bother or a pain. How, if you were his girl, he’d make sure you were never left anywhere stranded and alone.

It wouldn’t matter if it was day or night. Rain or shine. All you’d have to do is ask and he’d be there, moving the moon and the stars and the heavens above to give you what you want.

Eddie grabs onto your hand as he helps you step up into the passenger side of the van, not because he thinks you’re helpless but because he’s a gentleman at heart and he wants an excuse to touch you. It’s as simple as that.

Once you’re settled he runs around to the driver’s side and hops in, the chains on his leather jacket clinking as he moves. After buckling yourself in, you giggle when he turns on the van and “Breaking the Law” by Judas Priest starts to blast from the speakers.

“This song has such a funny music video.”

He doesn’t say anything back, just smiles and nods in agreement, but in that moment he’s pretty sure he could love you forever if you asked him to.

“So where are we going?” he asks, pretending he doesn’t know the exact location and travel time right down to the minute that it takes to get to your front door. He’s made the trip countless times when he’s on his way somewhere else, taking the extra long loop through town just to drive by your house and see your bedroom window glowing from outside.

He’s never actually been in your home and doesn’t know for sure that it’s your room, it’s just an educated guess. There’s a window with pink ruffled curtains on the second floor and you seem like the kind of person who’d have a pretty pink bedroom—something he used to make fun of but now plays as the background in most of his fantasies.

“Well…” You twist your hands in your lap. “I need to stop at the pharmacy on the way home if you don’t mind. It’s close to my house, so you can drop me off there and I’ll walk the rest of the way.”

Eddie nods as he backs out of the driveway. He has no intention of leaving you behind at the store, but he doesn’t bother arguing about it. He’ll deal with that later when the time comes.

“Wait right there,” Eddie orders as soon as he pulls into a spot off the street just down from the pharmacy. Then he shuts off the van and gets out, rushing around to the passenger side to open your door.

“You’re coming too?” you ask, sounding surprised as he takes your hand to help you out of the van.

“Yeah, if that’s okay with you,” he answers with a shrug. “I’m not doing anything else.”

Once you’re inside the pharmacy, he follows close behind as you lead him toward the back of the store. When he finally gets curious enough to ask what you’re looking for, you answer matter-of-factly. “I’m out of tampons and I think my period might be starting soon.”

You lead him to the row labeled ‘feminine hygiene’ and he stares at the array of colorful packages as you bite your lip debating which ones to buy. Finally you grab a box of tampons and turn to head to the checkout, gesturing for him to follow, your little skirt flouncing around your thighs as you walk.

A lot of guys might act immature or get embarrassed about shopping for that sort of thing, but being with you while you make your purchase makes him feel oddly content. He imagines this must be what it’s like to be a real life boyfriend, supporting his girlfriend on her shopping trips for period-related products like it’s no big deal.

‘My girlfriend’s tampons’ has a pretty nice ring to it in his opinion.

When you walk out of the store clutching your plastic shopping bag it starts to rain so he takes off his jacket and drapes it over your head and shoulders while you walk together to the van.

When he opens your door, you scramble inside out of the rain, pulling your head free of his jacket but leaving the rest over your shoulders for the short ride home. He doesn’t ask for it back, hoping the longer you wear it the more it will become infused with your perfume.

He leaves the radio off during the drive so that the only sound inside the van comes from fat raindrops spattering on the windshield and the whoosh of the wipers as they push them away.

“Do you think birds get sad when it rains because they can’t fly?” you ask while looking out your window.

He thinks for a second before answering. “Um, maybe? I’m not sure. Probably?”

The van is silent again for a moment.

“I like you, Eddie.” Your voice is quiet but it stirs him to his soul.

He tries to remain calm. “Yeah?”

When he glances over, he sees you nod before you to continue to speak, deliberate and slow. “I like how you’re so nice and never talk to me like I’m dumb. I know I’m not as smart as Mandy, but it really bugs me sometimes.”

“I think you’re so smart,” he assures you, and you smile then look down at your hands like you don’t believe him.

He’s beyond frustrated by the thought that your horrid monster of a best friend has managed to make you feel like you’re anything less than perfection.

“I mean, fuck.” He looks over at you as he drives on, fuming. “Just—don’t listen to Mandy, ok? Christ, she’s such a bitch.”

A short while later he pulls into your driveway after pretending he doesn’t know where to go and letting you direct him to your very familiar yard. The rain starts to pour down harder just as he puts the van in park, so you decide to wait a few minutes before getting out to see if it lets up.

“Nice place,” he says, acting like he’s never seen it before. He wishes he could follow you inside and help dry you off, make you a cup of hot tea to warm your bones and take care of you in that room with those ruffly pink curtains.

“Is that your bedroom up there?” he asks, pointing to it with a grin.

“Yeah.” You nod. It has a big tree outside with thick twisted limbs that reach and stretch below the eaves and Eddie starts to ponder his climbing skills.

“It’s just me and my mom here now. I’m staying with her during college so I can help out now that dad’s gone.”

“Oh, sorry.” Eddie really means it. He knows what it’s like to try and fill in for a father who’s not around.

“No, it’s ok,” you rush out, rejecting his sympathy with a quick shake of your head. “It’s probably better that he’s not here...”

Your voice trails off and you look down. He squeezes his hands on the steering wheel, feeling utterly helpless.

“Shitty dad club member myself.” He gives you a weak smile of commiseration. “That’s why I ended up living with Wayne.”

“Yeah?” You ask, a little misty eyed as you look up at his face.

He nods with a smile that crinkles the corners of his eyes. “Certified founding member of the Hawkins chapter.”

You give him the grace of a sad little laugh that makes his chest soar but ache at the very same time. When your eyes are all wide and dewy like that he thinks they’re even prettier than usual, if that’s possible.

“It looks like the rain is letting up, I should go,” you say. Then before he can prepare, you lean across the console to press a soft kiss to his cheek right above his dimple. In the moment he freezes, feeling like his heart might explode, not moving for fear of combusting on the spot.

When you pull back to look in his eyes, he assumes you’re about to leave but to his surprise you lean in and do it again, another quick peck to the same spot but this time a little lower and you don’t move away quite as quickly as before. Your mouths are so close that all it would take is a slight tilt of his head and his lips would be on yours—but he doesn’t dare.

Greedy as he is to have every piece of you to taste and ruin, he’ll only take what you’re willing to give—two sweet kisses that he’ll treasure for now until he can have the rest.

When you finally part, your eyes are still closed, lashes so long and pretty when they flutter open.

“Thanks for being my hero today,” you whisper under your breath before you turn to get out of the van.

Eddie silently watches your retreat, shoulders still draped in his leather as you rush towards your front door through the lingering light rain. If he knows anything about you and your sweet disposition, you’re going to feel really bad about stealing his jacket as soon as you get inside the house and realize you still have it on.

And just as he suspects, he hardly has time to kick off his sneakers after arriving back home before you’re calling to let him know you have his jacket. You’re so apologetic over the phone that he has to reassure you a few times that he doesn’t mind.

“Nah, it’s okay,” he soothes keeping his voice nice and low, the warm rumble assuaging your guilt. “I can get it back from you another time. It’s no big deal.”

“How about tomorrow?” you suggest. “I get off work around four. I can stop by?”

He’s about to agree when you continue to speak, your next words making his heart beat faster in his chest.

“Mandy’s working till six, so the coast should be clear for a little while.”

“Clear for what?” he teases smiling into the receiver, a finger and thumb playing with the button on his jeans, tickling the fuzzy hair under his navel. Not touching any part of himself—not yet. That’s for later when he’s alone with his thoughts and not standing in his uncle’s kitchen. But he’d be lying if he said his cock didn’t noticeably twitch under the denim when you give your coy answer.

“Well…for whatever you want, Eddie.”

“Oh.” He chuckles, flustered beyond his ability to form a coherent thought. “That’s—uh, yeah. Okay.”

Whatever he wants.

He wants to touch you. Make your pussy so wet that you gush, soaking his thick fingers. Bury his face between your thighs and lap at your dripping cunt like a man who’s dying of thirst. Is that what you mean? Whatever he wants?

Cause he wants to see you on your back, a pretty ring of cream on his cock while he fucks you deep and slow, flipping up your little pink skirt so he can watch while he ruins you. Would that be too much to ask?

All his horny thoughts are rushing, tumbling together in his head. His brain nearly short-circuiting as he mumbles out an excuse to get off the phone, afraid he’ll say something to embarrass himself.

How he makes it up the staircase to his bedroom in one piece after hanging up will forever remain a mystery. He feels like he’s floating, feet not quite touching the ground until his knees hit the edge of his bed and he flops down onto his back with an earth-shattering sigh.

He’s not sure how long he stays there, unable to move, staring at the ceiling and listening to his heartbeat pound in his ears while he replays your kisses in the van and every precious word of your conversation over and over in his head.

Whatever he wants.

You’re going to be his soon. He can feel it. He’s so close he can almost taste it, victory sweet as the finest sugar on his tongue. Even though life has always managed to knock him down, dealing him one losing hand after another, this time he knows he’s finally going to win.

Because now that he’s met you, his luck is going to change. He’s finally going to come out on top and get the girl of his dreams and live happily ever after with you by his side.

Because really, that’s what he wants.

dividers@//strangergraphics

see you in part 2, when we stop by Eddie’s for a little visit ;)