The Education of Sebastian & the Education of Caroline

  “What you say, you fuckin’ pussy?” the gorilla slurred.

  “Nothing, man,” I said quickly. “The asshole is trashed. He apologizes to your girl.”

  “No, I don’t!” laughed Tyler.

  That was when the gorilla threw a punch. I managed to block most of it, but Tyler still ended face down on the sidewalk.

  Then the other Marines piled in. Ah shit, I wasn’t going to see Ches get all beat up. I waded in, pulled the big fucker off of Tyler and got a few punches in before his fist caught me in the ribs. Fuck, that hurt.

  Luckily, Dina had been keeping an eye out for me. I saw her empty out a pitcher of beer into the mass of bodies. That cooled it down long enough for me to push the rest of them into a taxi and get them the fuck out of there.

  Dina was waiting for me, a smile on her face.

  “Wow, thanks for that, ma’am … um … Dina. You’re pretty spry.”

  “I’m a lot of things, honey,” she said, with a huge smile. Then she whispered in my ear. “I do yoga—I’m very bendy.”

  Holy fuck!

  She linked her arm through mine to walk along the street.

  “What’s your name, honey? I can’t keep calling you that…”

  “Sebastian.”

  “That’s a nice name. Unusual—suits you. Well, Sebastian, I thought I’d take you home and rock your world! Do you think you can keep up with me?”

  “Sounds good to me, ma’am, I mean, Dina.”

  And it did. It sounded really fucking good. I loved Ches, but all this wedding shit was making me a little crazy. I wanted to be able to forget everything. It was easy to fall headlong into a bottle, but Dina’s idea was turning me on big time. I loved it when a woman talked dirty—especially if she could do it in Italian. I’d have to remember to ask her later. Yeah, Spanish would work, too.

  “So what else are you guys doing in TJ, other than getting trashed?”

  “Surfing, hanging out, you know. Maybe some swimming, body surfing.”

  She laughed, then pulled me into a darkened doorway.

  “Baby, the only body surfing you’ll be doing is on me. Right here. Right now.”

  Shiiit!

  My back thudded against the door, and Dina was digging her nails in, as if she was trying to crawl up my body. Fuck, it hurt, but it was hot.

  “You want to be bad with me, Sebastian? Because I sure as hell want to feel your hard dick in my … fuck me!”

  Yeah, that was the general plan. Wait, what?

  Dina had grabbed a hold of my junk, and sue me, but I was hard as hell.

  “You got a stick of dynamite in there, honey, ‘cause that’s sure as hell gonna blow my brains!”

  She wrestled her door key out of her purse while I attacked her neck and bare shoulders with kisses.

  We fell into the stairwell, and it was so damn dark, we were literally groping around. I had no problem with that, until she accidentally kneed me in the balls, and I crashed against the wall, cursing like a squid (sailor, in civvy-speak).

  Dina laughed her ass off while I was writhing around on the ground.

  “Sorry, honey. Please God tell me you can still use that equipment.”

  I groaned out something that might have been a yes, I still wasn’t sure. In fact the only thing I was sure about was that I’d deflated faster than a Fourth of July balloon.

  When she finally finished laughing, she took pity on me and put some lights on to lead me inside. I staggered to my feet, and went after her. I could hear music, and I guessed she’d put on a CD. She was singing along and dancing to the song—it was kinda sweet. But the next thing I saw were her denim shorts, abandoned on the floor. I followed the trail of clothes through her apartment, until I stepped out of a glass door and into the yard.

  Hot tub! Oh fucking yes!

  Dina was leaning back, smiling up at me, while bubbles swirled and frothed around her. Her gorgeous tits were floating. I mean, seriously—floating!

  “Join me,” she said, waving an arm, and I wasn’t sure if it was an order or a request. I didn’t care. And if her backyard was overlooked by a dozen different windows, well hell—I hope they enjoyed the show.

  I yanked off my t-shirt, pretty certain a few seams had just ripped, then kicked off my boots and socks.

  I saw she was staring at my tattoo.

  “Hmm, Marine, huh? I like!”

  Damn, that tatt was worth its weight in pussy.

  “Yes, ma’am,” I said, watching her face. “We stole the eagle from the Air Force, the anchor from the Navy, and the rope from the Army. On the seventh day when God rested, we overran the perimeter and stole the globe—we’ve been running the show ever since. We live like soldiers, talk like sailors, and slap the hell out of both of them at the same time. Fighter by day, lover by night, drunkard by choice, and a United States Marine by an act of God.”

  She laughed long and loud.

  “God, you’re so young and cocky. I fuckin’ love that!”

  Oo-rah!

  I dropped my pants and briefs, watching Dina’s eyes as she followed their descent. I could swear the woman was spitting sparks. And I was hard again. This time, I hoped she’d keep her knees to herself.

  The water was hot, and felt fucking fantastic as I sank down into it. It was also good to soak off some of the salt that had been sticking to me ever since surfing earlier.

  “How long can you hold your breath, Marine?” she said.

  “Um, a couple of minutes? I don’t really know.”

  She smiled this slow, sexy smile. “I can hold mine for three and a half minutes—give or take.”

  “Okaaay?”

  And then she went down on me, right there in the hot tub. Woman sucked like a fucking hoover. Jesus, I wasn’t going to need three and a half minutes if she carried on like that.

  I had to stop myself from grabbing her hair and ramming her head down my cock, but I was still a bit nervous of her—woman had teeth, and I didn’t think she’d be afraid to use them.

  About a minute into the show, I felt my balls tighten in a way that had nothing to do with her left hand squeezing them.

  I tapped her on the shoulder, being polite and all.

  “Um, Dina, shit! Um, I’m gonna … fuck! I’m gonna…”

  She pulled away immediately, and finished me off with a twist of her hand, that wasn’t particularly gentle.

  I came all over her tits, and she just sat there smiling at me.

  “Sorry, honey. I’m the fluffer—I don't swallow that shit. It’s a pity my roommate Stephanie isn’t here. She loves to swallow.”

  I may have passed out while she was speaking, because when I opened my eyes, she was straddling my legs and biting the hell out of my neck. Shit, her teeth were sharp—I was really glad they weren’t near my dick anymore.

  It took me about a minute to get hard again. What can I say? I was 21 and had been in a fucking desert for nine months. I knew I shoulda used a condom, but how the hell was I supposed to do that in a hot tub?

  She rode the hell out of me, yelling and saying all this dirty shit. It was such a fucking turn on. She didn’t care who saw her or what they heard. She was just wild—and I loved it.

  Just as we were getting pruney from the hot water, she grabbed me and dragged me into her lair. She called it a bedroom, but I wasn’t so sure.

  She wanted to tie me up, but I was still remembering how she’d manhandled me earlier.

  “Why don’t you let me tie you up?” I suggested as an alternative.

  She glanced at the clock next to her bed.

  “Okay. My roomie will be back soon, so if you get too weird, she’ll use the blender on your balls. Fair enough?”

  I swallowed. What was it with women threatening my equipment?

  “Um, yeah. Fair enough.”

  This time I did use a condom, and after I’d tied her hands to the headboard, I turned her over and took her from behind. I was actually kinda lusting after her ass, but it seemed rude when we
didn’t know each other that well. Maybe, if I was still there in a few hours.

  Anyway, we were rocking that big old bed when fuck me if her roommate didn’t just walk right in on us. She didn’t even look surprised.

  She walked in and slapped my ass while I was fucking her roommate. Yeah, what? Shit, I came so hard, I saw stars.

  “Oh, hey,” said Dina, breathlessly. “Sebastian, this is Stephanie—Steph. Do you mind if she joins us?”

  By that point, I was pretty sure I was hallucinating.

  The new woman had black hair and brown eyes, and was holding a can of Bud Light. She shred her clothes before I could answer, and my eyes wandered over some really insane tats on her back and leg.

  Round three. Or was it four? I’d lost count.

  “Hmm, let’s take it to the next level,” said Stephanie. “Whaddya say, bitch?”

  I wasn’t sure if she was talking to me or Dina, but neither of them seemed to care what I thought. My dick was just happy to join the party.

  By the next morning, I was like the walking dead, and my cock had had more of a workout than when I was 15 and jerking off morning, noon and night. I had bite marks all over my chest, and probably my ass, too, from what I could remember. One of them—maybe both—had scratched the shit out of me, and I looked like I’d been wrestling with a wildcat, which was about right.

  I’m not sure how I walked out of there without my knees buckling. Dina gave me this huge, happy grin as I pulled on my pants, and I wondered if she was going to give me a certificate or something.

  She pointed one of her claws at my chest, and I swear my dick whimpered.

  “You are a credit to the Corps, Sebastian,” she said.

  Stephanie leaned up on one elbow and blew me a kiss, before heading back down under the sheets to … hell, by that point, I was so tired, I didn’t even care what she was doing. I just gave a half-hearted wave and trudged out of the door.

  Oo-rah.

  When I got back to the minivan, I saw that all bodies were present and accounted for, stretched out on the cold sand, muffled in their sleeping bags. I almost envied them. I had muscle strain in places I didn’t know could be strained. Dina had been right about the body surfing—all I wanted to do was lie my aching body the fuck down and die a happy man.

  I crawled into the minivan, and passed out on the back seat.

  It felt about five fucking minutes later when some bastard was crashing around, waking me up.

  “Hey, bro!” said Ches. “You look like shit. Rough night?” He dragged my t-shirt away from my neck. “Jeez, man! That must have been some chick!”

  “Yeah, and her friend,” I said, yawning my head off.

  “Outstanding!” he yelled.

  “Gimme a break,” I muttered, lying down again.

  “Oh, hell, no!” laughed Ches. “We’re going surfing! Get your ass into gear and move it, Marine!”

  “Fuck off!”

  The bastard pushed me hard, and I fell off of the seat and crashed onto the floor. Fuck! As if my body wasn’t already damaged enough.

  Ches jumped from the minivan, laughing his ass off.

  By that time, everyone was awake and my chance of sleeping off the damage was non-existent.

  We surfed some more, ate tortillas at Tecate Jack’s and then hung out on the beach. I fell asleep in the sun, and got maybe a couple of hours’ shuteye, before Ches nudged me with his foot and said we were heading out.

  His folks were flying in that evening and he wanted to get back.

  Gareth dropped us off first and about a second later Ches’s mom, Shirley, was hugging the crap out of both of us.

  “My boys!” she said with a huge smile. “You’re still in one piece!”

  Amy looked pretty happy, too, and I saw her copping a feel of Ches’s ass when she thought no one was looking. Mitch strode out and we shook hands before he punched my shoulder and gave me a guy hug.

  Mitch had been stationed at Camp Panzer Kaserne in Germany for the last year, so we compared notes and talked shit about the Corps, and then moved onto more general stuff. Amy was a lot calmer with them around, and I wasn’t the only one who was grateful for that.

  Or so I thought.

  I went out to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and Amy followed me.

  “You promised me that you’d look after Ches!” she hissed.

  I was taken aback. What the hell was she on about?

  “What? I did look after him! He’s fine. Nothing happened.”

  She folded her arm across her chest, which was a pretty fucking amazing achievement, given the size of it.

  “You left him!” she snapped. “You went off with some woman. He told me. Look at you! You’re covered in hickeys—it’s disgusting.”

  She was really beginning to piss me off.

  “Hey! I made sure his drinks were watered down, and I got him into a taxi. Nothing happened to him! So what’s your freakin’ problem?”

  I wanted to tell her that it was her dickwad of a brother who’d almost gotten us into a fight.

  “Just keep your pathetic hands off of my bridesmaids. They’re my friends, Seb, if you even know what that means. I’m not kidding! I…”

  Luckily, Shirley came into the kitchen, and Amy left immediately, her face still twisted with anger.

  “Everything okay out here?”

  I shrugged and got my water.

  When she didn’t leave, I should have known that something was on her mind.

  “Are you bringing a date to the wedding?” she asked, too casually.

  “Why would I want to do that when you’re going to be there?” I replied, trying to go for casual.

  She laughed. “I’ll save you a dance. Maybe one of Amy’s friends…?”

  I knocked that idea back PDQ. “Nah, Best Man duties is enough for me, Shirley.”

  She looked at me, her face serious. “Look, I know that the last few years since Caro … the last few years have been hard…”

  Fuck. I really didn’t want to hear that name—not now.

  “Shirley, I’m good. It’s fine. You don’t have to worry about me.”

  “Of course I worry about you, Sebastian, the same as I worry about Ches. Just don’t give up on the idea of meeting someone. You’ve got to stop pushing people away. And I’m not talking about your hook ups.” She waved a hand. “Don’t worry, Ches hasn’t told me … much … but I hate seeing you being so … hard when I know that’s not you.” She looked me in the eye. “She did love you, you know. Caroline—she did love you.”

  I closed my eyes and turned away.

  “Yeah, but not enough.”

  And I’d really had enough of that conversation. Shirley kissed my cheek and left me alone.

  I wasn’t sure what to make of what she’d just said. I mean, I’d moved on, right? I was seeing other women. Yeah, casual stuff but so what?

  I tried to shake off what she’d said, but it left me with an uneasy feeling.

  None of us were in the mood for staying up late, so we had an early night. I tried to get comfortable on the couch, but couldn’t sleep. I ended up dragging my bedroll into the backyard and falling asleep under the cold stars.

  A loud scream woke me, and I automatically reached for my M16 before I remembered where I was. I realized the sound was more happy squeals than screams, and decided that the bridesmaids must have arrived.

  That was our cue for getting our shit and driving out to the country club for breakfast. Shirley took pity on me, and made me a cup of coffee before Ches, Mitch and I were kicked out.

  We had a quick breakfast at the club, and then checked into our rooms. Ches was beginning to look nervous, and he asked me three times to show that I’d kept the rings safe. On the fourth time, I told him that if he asked me again I was going to swallow them, and then he’d have to wait for me to shit them out. That kept him quiet—for about five minutes.

  I ordered a bottle of tequila from room service, and we did a couple of shots just to h
elp him calm the fuck down. Then he headed back to his room to get dressed.

  I set my phone to wake me in 45 minutes and managed to cat-nap before showering, shaving off the stubble, and changing into my Dress Blues.

  Even though Amy hadn’t wanted Ches to enlist, she had a thing about me and Mitch wearing our uniforms. Whatever. I didn’t get to wear the Blues that much, and it saved renting a tux.

  I realized I’d better make a start on writing my speech, but then Mitch came in and we did some more shots, while he was rambling on about when Ches was a kid.

  I really envied what they had. My bastard of a father had never given a shit about me, and there was no way he’d be reminiscing on my wedding day—assuming I was dumb enough ever to get married. I was kidding myself—no chick would be dumb enough to have me. I was damaged goods, and I knew it.

  Their ceremony went off well. Amy looked cute, and the dress managed to corral her tits somewhat. I saw her friend Stacey checking me out, but reminded myself that she was off limits. Shirley cried and even Mitch wiped a tear away. I didn’t swallow the rings, and I didn’t drop them either. Job done.

  And Ches was a married man. Well, fuck me.

  The meal was pretty nice but I couldn’t enjoy it, because, firstly, I was sitting with Amy’s parents and Tyler on one side, who was slowly getting wasted; and secondly, I knew that my speech was coming up, and I’d written zero, zip, nada, zilch. But then the emcee announced the Best Man, and it was time for me to do my thing. Don’t fuck up! Don’t fuck up!

  “Um, hi, everyone. So, this is when I have to do the Best Man’s speech thing. That’s cool.”

  Which was a fucking lie—I was sweating bullets, especially wearing my Dress Blues.

  “But Ches already knows I’m the best man—isn’t that right, brother?”

  I know he wanted to tell me to fuck off, but he couldn’t with his new in-laws sitting there. It was pretty funny.

  “I’ve known Ches since he was 14, this skinny little kid, but he had a pair of Tom Boyle Vans—not that I’m still hung up on it or anything.”

  I saw a couple of Ches’s guy friends nodding in the audience, but everyone else just looked confused.

  “He was the new kid at school and I was the runty Navy brat who was a year younger, but we bonded over his wheels, and have been friends ever since.