Anybody that knew Tiffany for long enough knew that she had a plus one. Inevitably, wherever she went, her gorgeous boyfriend Spencer would end up. Tiffany was a pretty good-looking girl, with her deep yet innocent eyes and her ponytail. It was inevitable she would land a guy like Spencer with his chiseled square jaw, confident brown eyes, and toned body. The two of them were always doing something together, always talking about something, and more often than not, one of them would always have at least one hand on the other.
And Tiffany preferred it that way. She grew up to realize she appreciated a clingy boyfriend. She could appreciate even the possessive nature, as long as she was respected along the way. In her view, if a boy wanted her that badly, of course he’d want to spend more time with her or protect her. In its own way, it was sweet.
She nestled into Spencer’s strong arms as the two of them kept watching their movie, even if she was perhaps more into it than him.
Eventually, she heard a low laugh behind her, even as Spencer tightened his grip around her. “This is so fuckin’ dumb,” he lightheartedly complained.
Tiffany turned around and smiled. “It’s about magicians pulling off a heist, babe,” she pointed out. “It’s not going to be smart.”
“It could be,” he grumbled, then paused. “Weren’t those two in another movie together?”
Tiffany nodded. “Zombieland, yeah.”
“Now that’s a movie. Why aren’t we watching that?” he asked, kissing her neck from behind.
“Because, as hard as it can be to believe, sometimes we get to watch what I want,” Tiffany giggled. The two of them went back to watching until Tiffany’s phone lit up in the dimly lit room. Someone sent her a message.
Not only did Tiffany reach to pick up the phone; someone else’s hand reached too. Tiffany beat Spencer only by a matter of inches to grab her phone first; she learned to improve her reflexes so that Spencer wouldn’t beat her to it, read the name, and dangle the phone in front of her face and ask, in a new tone – a tone she knew all too well – “Who’s this?”
Of course, grabbing the phone first had consequences of its own, but those were consequences she could mitigate. As soon as she swiped the phone, before she could even look at the screen, she heard the telltale hostile chuckle.
“Wow, that was fast,” Spencer said with faux lightheartedness. “Is it something I’m not supposed to see? Who’s even texting you this late?”
Tiffany looked at the screen, ensuring it was just angled away from Spencer’s prying eyes enough, and cleared her throat. “A friend of mine is waiting for a flight,” she answered, opening the message and beginning to answer. “I just wanted to keep them company, that’s all. It’s nothing bad or anything.”
“Oh, okay, I see,” Spencer replied in an overly chipper and interested voice. “That’s interesting, that’s… that’s really something.” A beat of silence passed between them, even with the movie still playing. “No, that’s just interesting,” Spencer continued, “because the way you talked about it was just… you know.”
“What do you mean?” Tiffany asked, already not liking where this was going.
“Hm? Oh, I just thinks it’s weird – kinda funny – that you used different words there. Like when you were talking about this friend… you didn’t say ‘her.’ You said ‘them.’ It almost sounds… like you wanted to be vague.”
Tiffany said nothing.
Spencer let the silence pass, but only for a few seconds. Eventually, he got up from behind her, standing up and reaching for the remote. He paused the movie then put it back on the table, then turned to Tiffany with an outstretched hand. “Show me the phone,” he told her with a new tone.
“Spencer…” Tiffany began uneasily.
“Show me the phone,” he repeated.
“Why can’t we just leave this alone? Don’t you trust me? People are going to text me. Do you expect me to show you every time-”
“No, no no no, don’t [pull that,” Spencer warned. “This isn’t ‘every time.’ This is ‘you’re hanging out with me, you got a message, and now you’re immediately trying to hide it.’ If you weren’t, you wouldn’t have angled the phone away from me like that.”
Tiffany huffed. “I wasn’t trying to- look, I was- I just knew that you’d get the wrong idea, and I just want to have one night where-”
“The phone,” Spencer interrupted, his expression turning deadly serious. “Now.”
Tiffany sighed and rolled her eyes, and conceded. She handed the phone to him, knowing that if they were already arguing, they may as well have argued over what was really happening instead of whatever Spencer imagined was happening.
Spencer looked at her screen, and slowly shook his head. “Mike,” he acknowledged. His eyes flickered from her screen to her face, yet not her eyes. He didn’t look her in the eyes when he was upset. “I asked you not to talk to him anymore.”
“Spencer, please,” Tiffany replied, half-pleading, half-exasperated. “Mike is a nice guy, Mike and I have known each other for a long time, and Mike has never tried anything with me when I was single. He knows you, he… he likes you. He would never do anything with me, not just because I wouldn’t want it, but because he wouldn’t want to upset you. That’s the truth. Okay? Can we please just not do this tonight?”
“Right to my face, huh?” Spencer vaguely chastised her. “If he liked me – and even that’s hard to believe, I’ve never met him – then he would respect that I don’t want him to message you. And yet here he is…” He held up the phone and dangled it in that way Tiffany hated.
Tiffany sighed. The exact reason Spencer had never met Mike was because if this was how he handled Mike messaging her, she wouldn’t be dumb enough to allow Mike within striking distance of Spencer. It would be a disaster no matter what. “Babe, he and I are friends,” Tiffany quietly protested. “We’re going to keep in touch. You don’t want me to just stop having friends for you, do you?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth,” he argued. “I don’t want you to stop having friends. Just not Mike.” He paused, looking over the messages. His eye twitched in thought. “Does he even know about us?”
Despite everything, Tiffany couldn’t help but chuckle quietly. “Yes, of course he does,” she answered. “I’ve told you that.”
“Yeah, you’ve told me that, but I don’t see any mention of me here…” Spencer replied, flicking up her phone’s screen. “Well then…” He clearly began typing.
Tiffany, seeing what he was doing, got to her feet. “Spencer, what are you- Spencer!!”
Spencer calmly began walking away from her, still typing. Tiffany followed him around, and every time she got close, he would swiftly turn his back on her, until she eventually swiped at an opportune time and got her phone back. Spencer had closed the messaging app, and when Tiffany had it opened again, a blank screen under “Vanish Mode” greeted her.
Tiffany groaned. “Spencer, what did you say?”
Spencer shrugged. “If you can’t tell me the truth when I ask you, isn’t it kind of hypocritical to ask me?” he asked her.
“I do tell you the truth, I do,” She protested. She saw Mike turn off Vanish Mode then reply.
um hi Spencer
Tiffany shook her head slightly. “Seriously, what did you say?” she asked. “He already knows we’re together, and hopefully you can believe me now. I’d like to know what you said please.” She paused, noting his silence. “You know, if you really want open communication in this relationship, that has to come from both sides. I’ve told you the truth and the full truth, and you even got to look through the messages we sent. Don’t I get to know the truth too?”
Spencer paused. “It was just for Mike,” he finally said quietly. “Don’t worry about it.”
***
Mike cringed. “Yeah, I remember that,” he admitted. “And I told you, he basically told me the same thing. Hey, this is Spencer Hale. Me and Tiffany have been together for three months now. Now that you know, stop messaging my girl. You don’t need to. If you respect me, you’ll respect my wishes. Something like that.”
“Great guy,” Burton spat, his arms folded.
Mike scratched the back of his head. “I just wished there was more I could have done,” he added. “Maybe, like, screenshotted the first moment you told me about him and sent it along… or that time we talked about how terrible we would have been together. Anything like that.”
Tiffany shrugged. “It wouldn’t have helped anyway,” she admitted softly.
Mike nodded. “Yeah, I remember you told me that he didn’t get drunk often, and when he did, he was a little unstable compared to his normal self or something.”
Paul leaned in. “Spencer was drunk?” he asked curiously.
“Um, yeah,” Tiffany quickly agreed, scratching her cheek in discomfort. “So, after that…”
***
Tiffany sighed, going back to the couch. She dodged the beer bottles littering the floor and sat back down on the couch, eager for the bad vibes to subside and this stupid moment to just… end. “I promise I care about you,” she called out, despite the fact that Spencer was still not back in the living room.
He stumbled back in after a few seconds. “You jus’ need to… you jus’ need to be… fuck, just be trustworthy,” he sighed, stumbling over and sitting down in a nearby chair, head in his hands. He was always so kind when he was sober, but whenever he was drunk like this, his normally good nature just evaporated. Luckily, he was back to normal when he was sober, at least…
Spencer stood back up, finding his footing, then stumbling back to Tiffany, smelling distinctly like alcohol. He managed to collapse onto the couch beside her, and-
***
“Okay, time out,” Paul called, making a T sign with his hands. “I’m gonna be really blunt here. You didn’t even mention the alcohol factor until Mike did, and now, you made careful attention to point out that he was only ever like this when he was drunk. I feel like if that were – sorry, but if that were true, you would have mentioned the drunk part from the beginning.”
Tiffany bit her lip and said nothing.
“And the slurring… you never even started imitating the way he slurred until-”
Burton held up a hand to Paul, wordlessly telling him to stop, before turning to Tiffany. All eyes were on her, and she just eyed her food in clear shame. A good ten seconds of silence passed before Tiffany exhaled and said, “He was sober.”
No one said anything for a bit. Mike just nodded solemnly and piped up. “Did you maybe just want to make it seem less like a him thing?”
“Basically,” Tiffany admitted quietly. “I just… didn’t want you guys to think…”
“He’s an abusive boyfriend,” Burton cut in, both finishing Tiffany’s thought and making a direct accusation. “Sorry not sorry.”
Tiffany started shaking her head no. “No, see, that’s the problem with telling stories like this,” she explained. “It’s also what sucks about having a possessive boyfriend. You only ever hear the bad stuff. We have been together for three full months. You guys never saw him when he was at his best!”
***
In many ways, college was easier than highschool. Instead of the same seven-hour class routine every day with no true breaks, she got to choose her own classes and managed to line up her schedule so she’d get Fridays off and never go for four hours straight without an hourlong break in the day.
The real way college sucked more than highschool was in the homework department. Unlike her life a few short years ago, if she didn’t keep up with class assignments on her own time, she was royally screwed. Despite being the type to finish most of her homework in class in high school, in college most of her hours off were spent at her desk, doing homework.
Unfortunately, most of the college assignments Tiffany got were the least interesting papers that human beings could hope to assign. As a result, Tiffany often had to grapple with the curse of mind-numbing boredom. Given this, she was all too happy to be taken out of her headspace when her doorbell abruptly rang.
Even so, her expression steeled. Who could that have been…? She certainly wasn’t expecting anybody. She hesitantly got out of her chair and cautiously walked to the door to her dorm, opening it to reveal a pleasant surprise.
The most welcome sight in the world greeted her. All thoughts of homework were instantly wiped from her mind when she saw Spencer, the exact human she’d been missing the most, holding a bouquet of flowers. “Hey,” he suavely greeted. “I thought you might be having a boring afternoon.”
Tiffany couldn’t stop herself from turning pink. “I- Spencer-!!” She could barely speak. Flusteredly, she accepted the flowers as Spencer invited himself in. “What’s the… wh-…?” She was pink all over. Tiffany had a soft spot for romantic gestures, and couldn’t recall the last time a boyfriend of hers actually got her flowers. She couldn’t stop a big dumb grin from spreading across her face; doubly so as Spencer found a vase and filled it with just the right amount of water.
He took the flowers from her. “Shall I…?” he asked, holding up the vase, and Tiffany nodded.
“But… why…?” Tiffany managed as he tastefully moved the flowers to the vase.
“Does a man need a reason to treat his girlfriend?” he asked rhetorically. “This one sure doesn’t. I just wanted to see you smile.” He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close. “And it looks like I succeeded.”
Tiffany practically melted in his embrace. Spencer was so assertive, so demanding, and yet so confident, so giving, such… such a man. When he pulled her in for a kiss, Tiffany was all-too-happy to surrender to him. It felt so good to give in to a man so giving and caring and thoughtful. Tiffany’s head was swimming, not just with gratitude for this attractive romantic hunk she had secured, but with all the hormones that came with these feelings.
And Spencer knew this all too well. Even as he pulled her close, his hands weren’t anywhere innocent or unpresuming – they were on her tight little waist, his fingers practically sinking into her, assertively holding her and claiming her as his own. Tiffany felt a fire ignite between her legs with quickness and neediness that seemingly only Spencer could cause.
Spencer held her close, kissing her deeply, confident brushing his tongue along her bottom lip, making her shudder. Before Tiffany knew it, her back was up against the wall, and Spencer, whose lips hadn’t left hers, was grinding up against her, his thick cock pulsing and throbbing to life.
Tiffany loved when he got like this. If there was one thing that got her going, it was when her man was assertive yet giving. Spencer seemed to take a sheer delight in pleasing Tiffany on his terms, and Tiffany was all too happy to go along with it. When Spencer graduated to kissing and sucking on Tiffany’s neck – no doubt leaving marks as he did – Tiffany merely let her neck relax, throwing her head back and moaning her approval to the ceiling. Her hips moved on their own, thrusting needily back into him, begging him wordlessly to keep going and hopefully get, if anything, more assertive.
It was a call Spencer was glad to heed. He, just like Tiffany, was eager to proceed, and he always loved the challenge of finding ways to please Tiffany more, or quicker, or any way that would remind her just why they worked so well together. Tiffany went from the wall to thrown onto the bed – with “thrown” being the operative word. Spencer could get so sexually aggressive, and Tiffany didn’t want to admit to him or herself how much she loved it. She knew that she was a horny woman and that it barely took anything to get her going. Sometimes Spencer would even make a game of randomly hugging her from behind when she got up to do things, slipping his hand down her front, watching her melt immediately. She loved to tease her.
Luckily, today it was clear that teasing wasn’t what Spencer had in mind. Once she was on the bed, he attacked her, removing her clothes with such speed and authority that if she wasn’t so turned on, it might scare her. But the scary part was almost part of the appeal – she was so under his spell. She felt so owned, so receptive. It couldn’t do anything but turn her on more.
Spencer, of course, was rock-hard and throbbing. He usually was around her, but too often he would only tease her. It made her treasure the moments like these, where he was going right for what he wanted. When he shed his own clothes, Tiffany could only bite her lip and spread her legs, revealing just how wet she was getting for him. Even with his thick size, Tiffany would get so turned on for her boyfriend that they never needed lube. And with her on the pill, they chose to forgo condoms; a fact that pleased Spencer to no end. Without either of them needing to reach for anything from the drugstore, the two could go right to the main event. Tiffany lined him up with her entrance – her pupils may as well have been heart-shaped when he pushed forward. The feeling of her controlling boyfriend filling and stretching her was so overwhelming, so good, that she practically got tears in her eyes.
Spencer didn’t bother to go slow, especially with how wet his girlfriend got. Gathering up his strength, he began to move his hips back and forth, going from moderate thrusts to pumps. Before long, he was full-on pistoning back and forth, making the bed shake and creak as one hand gripped the bed baseboard for support, and the other wrapped around Tiffany’s throat.
Tiffany had her mouth open and her eyes closed, barely able to think of anything but the feelings of rapture her boyfriend was causing for her. She felt her whole body tingling and reacting to her boyfriend’s treatment, and his hand around her throat allowed her thoughts to go fuzzy and blissful. Her brain had this soft, almost prickly feeling, especially given Spencer knew how to restrict her blood flow, grabbing the sides of her neck instead of the front, and periodically let go for a bit, allowing full blood flow to return to her brain and give her the satisfactory feelings of withhold and release. When it came to choking, Spencer was a well-practiced pro.
Spencer relentlessly hammered away, causing the bed and Tiffany to both make high-pitched whining noises, showing off his impressive stamina as Tiffany felt her own body giving in. Before long, her muscles began to tighten and she could feel her impending orgasm ready to spring forth. She could tell that this was going to be a big one, and as much as she wanted to articulate that, all she could pant out to Spencer was, “Yes… yes… please… p-please… c-cumming…”
Spencer never stopped nor changed pace. He grabbed hold of Tiffany’s neck one final time and squeezed, applying the perfect pressure to fully take advantage of her coming orgasm. Sure enough, when the fireworks went off, Tiffany was in a state of fuzzy bliss, and Spencer let go at the perfect time.
Her blood flow returned to her brain at the exact moment everything exploded. Tiffany cried out in an uncontrollable manner as she felt every nerve in her whole body light up. The orgasm spread from between her legs across her whole body, and touched everything along the way. It felt like she was floating on top of the bed. She wanted this moment to last forever. She wanted them to last forever. Tiffany came back down to Earth, panting and sweating, barely able to even remember her own name. She looked at Spencer with pure lust, pure appreciation, pure love. All this from an adorable hunk that bought her flowers for no reason. She could have died happy right then and there. She was in heaven. It couldn’t get any better than this.
Both Tiffany and Spencer were good-looking, so no matter the circles they ran in, they always got invited to parties. College was a time for discovering yourself and letting loose, so naturally, the two tried to go to as many as they could make, and they barely ever went without the other. This party was no exception, and the two arrived together.
Tiffany was a little self-conscious walking into the party with Spencer’s hand looped around her waist, as if he had to hold onto her or she’d drift away forever. The two recently had a talk about possessiveness, but it was a good talk… because no voices were raised. Nothing changed, but nothing got worse, so… small victories?
But hey, the two were here now, and the two were ready to have fun. Eventually, Spencer broke away from her with a kiss, and Tiffany was free to mingle as she chose.
She got herself a drink and found a crowd to talk and joke around with – a couple of classmates and a few newbies she never met before. The group had agreed to hang around the living room area of the student house, and before long Tiffany was getting a good buzz going. She was on her second cider (beer was gross) and lay draped across the couch as her new friends played Would You Rather with her.
Of course, a lot of these new friends were boys, so before long, Spencer reappeared and sat on the couch with her, his hands decidedly communicating with the group that she was taken and out-of-bounds. This was very in-character for Spencer, and wasn’t shocking in the slightest. The only thing out of the ordinary was the pair of eyes clearly fixated on the two.
Tiffany didn’t even notice it at first, but as time went on, she couldn’t not notice the woman’s gaze intently peering at the couple. Tiffany recognized her – one of Spencer’s exes. Ash, if her memory served correct. She was a pretty and unassuming-looking girl, like a rabbit. Timid-looking, but looks could be deceiving. She didn’t jump or immediately look away whenever Tiffany met her gaze – Ash looked away politely, but never acted with shame or hesitation. It was very intentful.
Tiffany thought to herself for a while, then shrugged it off. Hey, maybe this was why Spencer was so possessive. His ex was clearly incredibly jealous, and was gazing over at her ex and his new girlfriend. Well, she could stare all she wanted. Still buzzed, Tiffany decided to give the ex a show and tilted Spencer’s head towards hers. Tiffany gleefully grabbed both cheeks and pulled Spencer into a kiss, which Spencer gladly accepted. The crowd around them gawked at the very public and sudden showing of affection, although they either left them alone or jokingly whooped at the sight – this was a party after all, these things could happen. Still, Tiffany and Spencer were shameless, gladly tongue-wrestling on the couch while Spencer’s hands lightly roamed his girlfriend’s body. Tiffany wasn’t normally into public displays of affection that much, but the alcohol and the jealous ex watching spurred her on.
When Tiffany broke the kiss, she looked back to see Ash had clearly moved away. Tiffany smiled smugly, admiring her work. That’ll teach her.
The two remained on the couch for a bit until Tiffany decided to go for some water – the two ciders were giving her dry mouth and that wasn’t fun for talking, kissing, or many other partying activities. She made her way to the kitchen, got a plastic red cup, and began to fill it at the sink. As she did, she saw someone lean against the counter casually.
“Uh, hi,” a voice said awkwardly. Tiffany had her suspicions who that could be, and when she turned her head, she was proven correct. Ash’s lithe frame was leaning against the counter; her innocent gaze staring off into the distance. With her overbite, small nose, and lowered eyelids, she looked even more like a rabbit up close.
“Hi,” Tiffany returned, turning off the water. If this was anything related to Ash’s own jealousy, Tiffany was ready to cut the conversation as short as possible.
“I dunno if we’ve met, but my name is Ash,” the girl continued, finally looking at Tiffany.
“Hi Ash. I’m Tiffany, but I’m guessing you knew that,” Tiffany told her, in a tone that hopefully finished the conversation before it could start.
Ash only gave her a sad smile. “I know that tone,” she told her. “I’m sorry for staring earlier.”
Hey, an apology was cool. For a single second Tiffany mulled the situation over, then decided it was probably only fair to be courteous back. “It’s fine,” she lied benevolently. “I can totally understand not being over an ex. Been there.”
To her surprise, Ash’s eyes widened, then she laughed. “Oh, no,” she admitted. “Oh my God, no. Sorry, not at all.”
That wasn’t the response Tiffany was expecting. Confusedly, she cocked her head.
“I can totally see how that looked though, that’s my bad,” Ash continued. “I’m actually glad we got to have our first conversation without him. I actually wanted to, uh, check in on you.”
Tiffany paused, then nervously took a sip of her water. “Check in on me?” she asked quietly.
Ash nodded. “Is he ever… you know…” She trailed off, but Tiffany didn’t take the bait. Ash sighed. “Um, look, he… is he doing anything… bad?”
“Bad?” Tiffany asked. Her voice started to quiver a little. “Um, why?”
Ash looked Tiffany up and down, as if determining something about her. “If you want me to be blunt here…” she trailed off.
Tiffany nodded.
Ash sighed again. “Look, uh, towards the end of our relationship, Spencer… sometimes… wasn’t the nicest guy on the planet. He got real possessive and started doing some things. Some things I liked, and other things I, uh, didn’t. I made some dumb choices, didn’t see things for what they were at the time, and I stayed way too long. I felt really dumb afterwards, and, if I’m being honest, now I see him being possessive with you and I think, ‘would I want to help out younger me?’ I think, yes. So, I’m sorry if I’m being weird or anything, but I’d rather ask and get a ‘no, he’s fine’ than not ask when things were getting bad.”
Hearing the words come out of Ash’s mouth was a perfect swirl of relief and fresh fear. Realizing her throat was drier than ever, Tiffany took a long drink of her water. “Uh…” she began quietly. “Yeah, he, um, is doing some nice things but… sometimes he isn’t… letting me live my life.”
Ash nodded. “Is he restricting what boys you’re allowed to talk to?”
Tiffany eyed the floor. “Yes,” she admitted with shame.
“Does he ever tell you that you just don’t understand things or blame you for things you feel you shouldn’t be blamed for?”
Tiffany was starting to feel sick. She nodded.
“Do you ever feel like he just wants to own you, and doesn’t respect you?”
Tiffany’s eyes squeezed shut. She nodded.
“Does he ever hit you?”
Her eyes shot open, and she looked with urgency at Ash. “No,” she replied with strength. “Did he ever hit you?”
Ash only gave a sad smile in response. “Hey, maybe he is improving,” she admitted quietly.
A silence of understanding wafted between the two girls. Eventually, Tiffany cleared her throat. “I should… talk to him, shouldn’t I?” she asked, asking and thinking that for perhaps the first time ever.
Ash paused, then shook her head. “Let me,” she told her. “I missed my chance to talk to him when it was about me. I know him. Let me talk to him for you.” She phrased it as a statement, but she didn’t move, as if she asked Tiffany for permission. Slowly, Tiffany nodded, and Ash nodded back, shoving herself away from the kitchen counter and disappearing into the sea of people.
It wasn’t just in her mind. Spencer was really like this. Tiffany’s mind was swirling with thoughts – thoughts and realizations. No one could take away the happy memories she had with her boyfriend, but there was no denying what he was like at his worst. She couldn’t ever look at him the same way again, knowing he wasn’t just possessive with her – Spencer was possessive with women.
Thinking in place quickly became pacing, which quickly became walking throughout the party. Tiffany wasn’t sure if she was trying to find Spencer or avoid him, but pretty soon, she located him – him and Ash. The two of them were interlocked in a vicious-looking debate, and though they were both trying to keep it quieter so it wouldn’t devolve into a shouting match, it was clear from their actions what they were saying. Tiffany watched, transfixed in what felt like horror, when she heard a few sentences break through.
“You think I’m afraid to fuckin’ hit you?!” Spencer icily demanded.
“Do it,” Ash told him with a voice Tiffany had never heard from a human being before. “Take a swing. I’ll hit you right back. I’ve wanted to for a while now.”
Tiffany found her footing and nervously backed away, wading back into the sea of people. Eventually, she found the couch and sat back down. The two times she sat on that couch couldn’t have been more different, and Tiffany felt light-headed from all the satellites of thoughts and realizations swirling around her head.
Tiffany had no idea how much time had passed. Maybe a minute, maybe a full hour, but eventually she felt the couch shift as someone sat beside her. Then an arm reached around her shoulder. She turned to see Spencer, smiling at her, holding a beer in his other hand. He looked so relaxed, possibly intoxicated, but so relaxed, like that awful fight never even happened. “Hey baby,” Spencer said to her with a slight slur. “You enjoying the party?”
Tiffany paused, then realized that beating around the bush wouldn’t help anyone. “What happened with you and Ash?” she asked.
Spencer paused, his expression unchanging. A full few seconds passed. “Wi- w- huh?” he asked in a drunker voice, slowly swaying. “What are you- what do you mean?” he asked, then giggled to himself drunkenly.
Tiffany could see right through him. He wasn’t that drunk, but he clearly didn’t want to answer. He was hiding something from her. She realized she didn’t need to talk to him right now; she needed to talk to Ash. Tiffany stood up off the couch, and uttered, “I need to talk to her” – and only realized afterwards how much of a mistake it was to admit that.
Spencer grabbed onto Tiffany’s arm and stood up, holding her back from running away. “Woah, wait wait,” he laughed, suddenly seemingly a lot less drunk. “What’s the hold up, babe? Fuck, you look so good right now…” He held her arms in place and began to kiss her neck. Tiffany stood, her arms frozen in place by her boyfriend’s clearly firm hold on her, not knowing quite what to do. She closed her eyes and grimaced, realizing she was trapped and letting it happen.
That party was a turning point for Tiffany, but luckily, so was the fallout. It had been a few days since, but after a few days of very little contact with him, Spencer shocked Tiffany yet again. He came to her with an apology – not one of those “please take me back” apologies, but a real one. He profusely apologized, outlining everything he did wrong. Comfortingly, everything he said aligned perfectly with what Tiffany was thinking. He not only apologized, he clearly understood what about his behavior was wrong, and even what Tiffany found the most worrying and insulting. He admitted that he blew up at Ash in the moment, but reflected on it and realized that he hadn’t been fair to Tiffany, and he saw that now.
Tiffany was reassured. There was no way he knew to say all that unless he truly understood her feelings. He wouldn’t even think of it otherwise. She was ready to break up with him if he didn’t show signs of growth, but miraculously, he became self-aware enough to see his faults and improve them, by choosing to look at it from her perspective. A weight was lifted off of her shoulders. Everything was getting better.
The only step left was to inform her closest friend, Ellie. Tiffany told Ellie everything, and she realized that given how much she vented to Ellie about Spencer once Ash had talked to her, Ellie probably would have gone on hating Spencer forever. Tiffany needed to tell her that everything was fine and to stand down. It was good to hold him accountable, but she didn’t want her best friend plotting revenge against her boyfriend when they were okay again.
The two were sitting down at the college’s on-campus cafe, their laptops out, studying together, as Tiffany broke the news. She explained that Spencer was alright now, and outlined that he seemed to understand why he was in the wrong and how well he apologized. Oddly, as Tiffany explained, Ellie’s smile wasn’t just of reassurance. It was weirdly… smug.
“I’m so glad to hear that, Tiffany,” Ellie said with a smile on her face. She reached across the table and supportively squeezed her friend’s hand. “I thought that was how it would end, but I’m so glad to hear-”
“You did?” Tiffany asked. “Why?”
Ellie smirked again, looking off to the side before leaning in. “I actually, uh, kind of took things into my own hands,” she admitted.
Tiffany’s expression darkened.
“I met up with him and I just let him have it – I fired everything at him. I left no stone unturned, Tiffany. What he did, how you felt, why it upset you so much… I told him absolutely everything.”
“…Everything?”
Ellie nodded enthusiastically. “I even warned him that you weren’t going to forgive him until he truly understood why. Oh, I had him wrapped around my little finger, Tiffany! You should have seen him. He was groveling, groveling to me, asking questions and-”
“One sec,” Tiffany interrupted, holding a finger up. “You said you told him everything… did you even include that I was planning to break up with him?”
Ellie nodded,, the satisfied smile still on her face.
“Oh my God,” Tiffany mumbled, putting her head in her hands. She groaned in disquieting realization. Ellie was a supportive friend, but she was frankly stupid and airheaded. Spencer wasn’t nearly as dumb. He didn’t actually learn from this – Ellie revealed to Spencer that Tiffany was planning to break up. She almost definitely revealed what needed to happen to prevent that from happening. Spencer then clearly used Ellie to arm him with everything he needed to say in order to convince Tiffany.
He hadn’t grown at all. He just figured out what he needed to say, then played them all like fiddles.
“Ellie,” Tiffany groaned. “He used you. You told him everything I wanted to hear, then he just repeated it back to me. He hasn’t changed at all.”
Ellie’s expression turned to bitter confusion. “Um, isn’t that just proving that he’s listening and willing to change if he remembered it?” she asked. “Like, clearly me telling him that affected him.”
Ellie just didn’t get it. Maybe that would be true for some people, but not Spencer. Ellie was just being naive. “No, Ellie. Spencer isn’t that kind of guy. I needed to trust that he came up with those thoughts himself… and now it’s clear he hasn’t.” She sighed. “I’m back to square one,” she admitted out loud to herself. “But maybe if his actions change…”
Ellie wasn’t satisfied with this turn of events. “Um, no,” she protested. “I think you’re just, like, wallowing. I did a good thing here.” She folded her arms and huffed, arguing a little further, before Tiffany realized she needed to talk to Spencer as soon as possible.
He wasn’t at his dorm. Tiffany tried to surprise him without texting, but clearly, that wasn’t going to be a possibility. Accepting she was going to lose the element of surprise, she texted him, telling him she needed to tell him something very important without giving away that she was upset again. He texted back that he was at the campus library, so she hurried over.
She hurried over, needing this to be over as soon as possible. It was possible Spencer had actually improved, but now, it wasn’t a certainty. Tiffany had to ask and find out for herself, and more importantly, she had to measure his actions now. Spencer may have been smart enough to use Tiffany’s friends and say everything she wanted to hear – but was he smart enough to realize he genuinely needed to change?
Tiffany scoured all over the library before she finally found him at a study table with someone he recognized: Ash. It was clearly from the way they were sitting and talking that the two were definitely not flirting – besides, even if they were, why would Spencer truthfully tell her where he was? Even so, Tiffany felt a knot form in her stomach as she made the last few steps over to confront him.
Spencer made eye contact with her, and smiled triumphantly. “Ah, here she is now!” he announced to Ash. Ash looked over at Tiffany with some expression that Tiffany couldn’t place. It certainly didn’t match any expression Tiffany saw from her before.
Slowly, Ash got up, not needing another word from Spencer. She walked up to Tiffany and smiled, alarmingly sincerely.
“I, uh, was wrong, and I want to apologize,” she began. “I get too in my own head sometimes. I make up stories that aren’t true. Uh, please ignore what I said about Spencer. He’s a great guy, I just get kind of silly sometimes. He might get a little needy, but that’s fine, and I totally overreacted. I think you were right, I was a bit jealous, but I get that now and I won’t bother you two again.” She smiled again at Tiffany, and once again, the sincerity of her smile sent shivers up her spine. “Are we cool?”
Tiffany did not share Ash’s smile. She couldn’t even pretend to put up a facade. “Are you okay?” she asked worriedly.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Ash asked. “Yeah, I’m, uh, fine. Honestly, I’m sorry for ever worrying you. Spencer’s a great guy, and you’re lucky to be his girlfriend. I should go. See you!” With that, she scooped up her bag and walked away from the two, leaving Tiffany dumbfounded.
Spencer watched Tiffany’s expression with interest. “What’s up, babe? You didn’t react to that at all like how she thought you would. I think you scared her off.”
Tiffany looked back at Spencer. How did he do that to her? She wasn’t even crying for help with her eyes. It wasn’t just like he got her to say what she said… it was like he got her to believe it, too. “I know what you did,” she eventually found herself saying.
“Um, what?” Spencer chuckled in confusion.
“I know that Ellie talked to you. You lied to me. You told me you realized what you did wrong after reflecting, but you didn’t. Ellie told you I was going to break up with you unless you told me how you were going to change. You asked her for exactly what to say. You tricked her into telling you. And you-”
“Babe, babe, do you even hear yourself?” Spencer laughed dismissively.
“And what the hell did you say to Ash?!” Tiffany demanded. “There was no way she would say something like that on her own. That was not the same person I saw at the party. That-”
“Tiffany, Ash, frankly, has issues. We had a long productive talk about her damaging my relationships, and she admitted to me-”
“I don’t believe you.”
A beat of silence passed. “What?” he finally asked.
“I don’t fucking believe you,” she repeated.
Spencer chuckled again. “Wow, this was an awkward day to do this,” he admitted, pulling a wrapped rose from behind his bag. “I got it for y-”
Tiffany shook her head, wordlessly cutting him off mid-sentence. Spencer was scaring her, and clearly was trying to do everything he could. Damage control. This wasn’t growing and learning, it was just damage control. “I think we just need to go our separate ways,” Tiffany eventually said quietly. “I don’t w-want this anymore.”
Spencer turned, and got up from the study table. “You’re serious?” he asked, walking over to her. “Babe, after I apologized, and smoothed things over with Ash, and even bought you that rose, you’re… ignoring all that?”
“I’m not ignoring it. I don’t think you’ve changed.” Tiffany stood her ground, looking him right in the eye. “I think you treat women like property, if I’m being totally h-”
Tiffany felt a hand grab her neck. In shock, she looked right at Spencer. He was furious – and he was looking her right in the eye. “Oh, is that right?” he taunted her. “Is that what you’re doing? Ignoring everything I’m doing and just visiting my intentions? You really want to go all psycho and claim the higher ground with me?” he demanded.
Even though the chokehold wasn’t cutting off her air, Tiffany feared for her life. She never saw him like this. She felt her blood run cold. Spencer was holding her by the neck, in a public library no less.
Spencer maintained her gaze, then… sighed. As soon as it started, it ended, with Spencer releasing her, and her stumbling back. She should have ran right then and there, but she just… didn’t. Spencer sat back, sighing heavily, and ran his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry,” he admitted. “It’s just so hard doing all this when I feel like everything is crumbling around me. I do care about you, Tiffany. I swear. I did all this for you.”
That was why she didn’t run: pride. She wanted to have the last word. Even as she realized it, she stood. “You just wanted to have me,” she asserted quietly.
“I know, it’s awful. I’ve been awful, Tiffany, so awful,” he confessed, as she sat down at the study table. “Tiffany, I really want to get better, I do. I’ve been trying, but… I’m so fucked up. Do you want the truth?”
Tiffany slowly nodded.
“I had a girlfriend once. An ex now… obviously. My first. She… she just screwed me up. She kept saying all these things, and… and she hit me, Tiffany. No shit. She hit me. And it left me with all these feelings, like, ‘can I ever love someone again?’ And I truly thought like I would be this monster, for life.”
He gestured towards her. “But then… I met you,” he breathlessly continued. “Tiffany, I’ve never met a girl like you. I feel… so much when I’m around you. It’s like I’m healing. Slowly, I’m healing. Along the way, I keep screwing up and… doing these awful things. And believe me, no one hates it more than me when I do it. I see it all, and I feel awful every time. But I’m healing, Tiffany. I promise. And I’ll do everything I can to have you… believe that I can change. I promise.” He got up and walked to her, offering his hand.
Did he even have this ex? Was this real? Did it even matter? Tiffany knew she shouldn’t take his hand. So why did she? She didn’t know. All she knew was, like a robot, she took his hand and allowed him to guide her out of her seat, standing in front of him.
“Tiffany, please,” he pleaded. “Forgive me. I’ll change. I’m going to be the best boyfriend you ever had.” He grabbed her by the small of her back, holding her close. The roughness of his touch contrasted the softness of his words. “You believe me… don’t you?” His grip got tighter.
Tiffany swallowed. That was why Ash said what she said. It was why she was so genuine. Fear. “Um…”
“Tiffany… tell me you believe me.” Each word in the sentence got lower and lower.
She swallowed again. Her mouth got dry and this time there was no cider to blame. “Yes, Spencer,” she replied, pulling off a flawless performance. Her voice didn’t quiver. She knew if it did,m it would be game over. “I forgive you. I’m so sorry your ex was like that. I’ll… I’ll help you.”
“Oh, Tiffany,” Spencer sighed, embracing her. “You won’t regret this. I promise.” He broke the hug and held her by the shoulders, looking her right in the eye. “You’re my precious girlfriend,” he told her, leaning in and kissing her deeply.
Nothing. She felt nothing. Tiffany wasn’t sure if this was the first time she felt nothing when Spencer kissed her, or if this was the moment she realized she felt nothing for a good while now.
***
The table was silent for a bit. “Uh, can I ask something?” Paul’s voice eventually broke the silence.
“Go ahead,” Tiffany told him.
“You mentioned in the text chat you just had to go to the library then you’d come here,” Paul recalled. “Was… was this…?”
Tiffany sighed. “This was today,” she confirmed.
“Holy shit,” Burton exclaimed in shock. “How the fuck did you act like nothing was wrong for the last, like, two hours?”
Tiffany sheepishly shrugged, looking down at the table and the paid bills sitting on top of it. “I got used to it, I guess.”
“I, uh, don’t say this often, but… I am so sorry,” Burton continued.
Tiffany nodded. “I just… I get Ash now. I couldn’t say no. I have no… no fucking clue how to even break up with him. Every time I try to talk to him, it’s just… It’s like he has this… hold over me. And I don’t even know if I hate it, or hate him, or hate myself for falling for it. I just… keep feeling like…” She shook her head but kept her gaze fixated right in front of her. “I dunno. Like, maybe it’s better me than some other girl.”
“Nope, fuck that,” Mike replied emphatically. “Just prepare something. One single sentence. ‘Hi Spencer, you’re single now, bye.’”
“I don’t think it’s that simple,” Paul interjected. “It never is in these relationships. Tiffany is fighting a whole battle here. It always looks so easy from the outside, but when you’re in the situation, you get how hard it is.”
“Big talk from the guy who was only ever in one relationship. No offense,” Burton rebutted.
“He’s right,” Tiffany quietly replied. “Every time he talks, he just wins me over. It’s not even charm, it’s just like… he manipulates me. In ways I don’t even know. He feels… dangerous, but like, so dangerous I can’t look away.”
“Text message?” Paul suggested. “I know it’s normally scummy, but under the circumstances…”
“Yeah, seriously,” Burton chimed in. “There’s nothing wrong with breaking up over text if you’re scared of him in real life.”
“Guys, you don’t get it,” Tiffany protested. “He knows my dorm, he knows where I sleep, and I…”
“Tiffany, stay at my place tonight,” Mike offered. “Hell, stay at my place the whole week if you need. I can drive you to college, it’s not far.” He chuckled. “Take a hint from my story, Tiffany. If there’s no respect there, the relationship shouldn’t keep going.”
“Yeah, and mine,” Burton chimed in. “If he’s not willing to listen to you and he’s in the wrong, do what you have to. Any way to make your point come across.”
“Don’t forget mine,” Paul added on. “Focus on the people that care about you. Not the slimeballs that just want to own people and take what they want.”
Tiffany nodded. “Okay,” she conceded quietly. “If you don’t mind, Mike… maybe I’ll stay at your place.”
“Mi casa, su casa,” Mike replied with a nod.
“I’ll figure out what to text him tonight, then I’ll… make a plan,” she admitted, then gave a long sigh. “Thank you guys… for being gentlemen.”
Burton laughed. “We ain’t gentlemen,” he replied, looking around the table. “If anything, we’ve established we’re scumbags.”
Mike eyed the only dishes left on the table – their water glasses – and grabbed his, raising it. “A toast,” he declared, “to a group of scumbags!”
Paul chuckled, grabbing his glass. “Scumbags!” he cheered, clinking Mike’s glass.
“Scumbags!” Burton echoed, grabbing his glass and clinking it.
“Scumbags,” Tiffany added quietly in a satisfied voice, clinking her glass with theirs.
The group took a big long drink, then looked at each other. “My place?” Mike offered. “We can figure out the plan together.”
“You guys don’t have to,” Tiffany offered.
“We know. We want to,” Paul replied.
“Let’s get outta here,” Burton added. “I’ll catch Mary some other time. And trust me, next time, I’m getting her number.”
The group of four chuckled warmly as they got up out of their seats and left the diner.
Bashful Scribe 