Between two kops

Chapter eleven

Steven

We were sitting in a small cafe bar, tucked a bit further away from the center. It wasn't crowded, just the quiet hum of a few locals and some light background music. A secluded place like this suited her perfectly. No nosy looks, no judgment, no whispering behind her back.

"John mentioned to me that you were sticking up for some girl the other night. A Partizan fan at that? What's that all about?" she asked, raising an eyebrow playfully, half joking and half deadly serious.

"Ah, it's nothing. We just go to the same class, that's all," I replied, shrugging like I couldn't care less about the whole thing.

But Ksenija Savićević knew me better than anyone in this world. She knew when I was lying.

"You can't lie to me, Steven... We both know how much you hate Partizan fans and everything to do with them," she said calmly, yet completely sure of herself.

And damn it, she was right... as hard as it was to admit it to my stubborn head. I lie to Ksenija, I lie to my boys, I lie to myself. I hate Partizan fans for a million reasons, yet through all this s**t I'm going through, one little Partizan girl managed to steal my heart. On top of that, worst of all, a f*****g rich girl. Ah, bro... how far I've fallen, f**k my life.

I turned my gaze toward the bar and frowned when I realized what I was doing, but luckily Ksenija didn't notice a thing.

She didn't even look at me directly. She just took a slow sip of her fresh black coffee, as if she already knew every single answer I was going to give.

"And?"

"Ksenija, don't you start busting my balls too, for God's sake, Ksenija," I muttered, averting my gaze and lowering it to the wooden table.

"You like this girl? Admit it to me, Steven, clear your chest."

"I don't like her... I just... I just can't f*****g get her out of my head, and that's it."

She paused for a second, watching me carefully under the dimmed cafe bar lights, as if measuring my every word.

"Steven... that's your first step toward falling in love," she said much quieter. "What's this? Is my Stev finally falling in love?"

I let out a brief laugh, more out of nerves than a joke.

"Whatever, she's taken..." I paused for a moment, twirling the glass in my hand as if I could find some magic answer at the bottom. But there were never easy answers for me anyway.

I felt a strange bitterness in my mouth, like my entire world had collapsed right then and there, leaving behind the taste of heavy defeat. That taste that never goes away, no matter how many times you helplessly rinse your throat with water.

I always wondered why forbidden loves are always the sweetest. What the hell is it in a person that stubbornly drives them to want the exact thing they're not allowed to have? That feeling when you know you shouldn't even touch that forbidden fruit... yet something inside you f*****g screams at you to grab it, even if it ends up costing you everything you have.

You fall for the most beautiful girl you've ever seen and convince yourself that's it. And then reality slaps you across the face, and you realize she's taken. And not just taken, but happily taken. With a guy who, realistically, doesn't deserve her at all... but who am I to judge? Christina is happy with him. And me... s**t, I'm just Steven Stajić.

"Ugh, Stev... the absolute worst curse that could hit you. A classic love triangle..." She looked at me with genuine pity in her eyes. And I hated that more than anything in the world. I never wanted anyone to pity me. Especially not her.

"Don't look at me like that, Ksenija. It doesn't even matter anymore."

"Stev... I know you too well. You're gonna retreat into your shell like nothing happened. You're killing yourself with that silence..."

Her words stung because they hit right on target. She would always bring me back to harsh reality like that, without a shred of mercy. Like a cold wake up slap.

"And what am I supposed to do, Ksenija? Tell me!" I snapped, louder than I intended.

I couldn't control myself anymore. Everything had built up inside me. All that poison and rage I'd been swallowing up until now started bubbling up and spilling out of me like a volcano erupting the second something tiny sets it off.

"You can't give up on her, Steven. No way, are you listening to what I'm telling you? You have to fight for her if you really want her."

"Ha! Fight? Fight against what, Ksenija? Against her own happiness?"

"Against the lie, sweetheart," she said calmly.

"If she were truly happy with that guy, she wouldn't feel the need to talk to you. People who are actually happy don't look for an escape on the side. And she's clearly looking for one... in you."

"You don't get a damn thing," I cut her off bitterly, shaking my head.

"She's rich, her boyfriend is loaded. And me... I'm just a stray dog from the streets, a bum. What kind of escape could she possibly find in me, Ksenija?"

"I have nothing. I have absolutely nothing to offer her compared to what she has with Nick. I don't have a flashy car to flex, I don't have a massive house, or endless cash to take her all over the world. Do you get that, Ksenija?"

"Well, maybe the girl isn't chasing any of those things you just listed, Steven," she looked deep into my eyes, her voice softening.

"Maybe she's just desperately looking for one single, genuine person by her side... someone who's real for her."

"Drop it... I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Ugh... I can see this situation is way worse than I thought. Come on, get up, we're going to my place."

She stood up abruptly from her chair and instinctively stepped right next to me, wearing that attitude of hers like she'd already made the decision on my behalf and there was no room for argument.

"Why your place?" I asked her, thoroughly confused, my head already in complete, irreversible chaos.

"Well, Steven... There's only one proven way for you to forget about that Christina of yours for at least a few hours," she said completely calmly, but clearly enough to cut me down on the spot.

Her direct gaze told me absolutely everything in that moment. There was no need for any extra, stupid questions. I knew exactly what Ksenija was aiming at. A warm bed, a gorgeous, naked woman, and passing out drunk. The cheapest, most classic escape from your own thoughts. But does that actually heal an open wound in your head? Or does it just sanitize it briefly, only for it to burn even harder and more painfully once you sober up?

Ah, f**k it, bro... I'm going. I've got nothing to lose.

Without a word, I stood up from the chair, tossed cash onto the table, and followed quietly behind her. I wasn't sure if this was actually my conscious decision or just that classic, primal male weakness pulling us blindly forward when offered a woman's body.

She walked ahead of me, oozing confidence. Her steps were firm, steady, without a hint of hesitation. Completely unconsciously, my eyes drifted lower on their own. Her ass swayed perfectly in sync with every step, teasing me, almost shamelessly. As if she were intentionally provoking and testing me without a single spoken word.

She was only a year and a half older than me... yet she had everything I could only dream of.

A few minutes later, we were already hanging out at her apartment. An apartment that was, granted, well familiar to me from before... except this time it looked completely different. It was no longer that filthy dump I remembered from her worst days. New, modern furniture, fresh, pleasant colors on the walls. Everything neatly put together, more mature, and in its right place.

"Damn... I can't believe it. How did you even manage to turn that trash heap of an apartment into this place..."

"You like it?" She turned toward me with that soft, mysterious smile of hers.

"Hell yeah..."

"Just wait till you see what I did with the bedroom... Come with me, Steven."

I slowly followed her, but before I could even properly step over the threshold of the bedroom, her signature perfume hit my nose like a sledgehammer. That exact same one. She'd been wearing that identical, sweet scent ever since the early days of primary school. That f*****g perfume... Looks like I never truly forgot it in my entire life.

With one swift, practiced movement of her hands, she slid off her tight black dress and stood motionless in front of me, completely stripped down in light blue lace underwear. Her hair fell loosely over her bare shoulders in thick strands, while the silver navel piercing caught the dimmed light from the window, magnetically pulling my gaze downward.

"Stev... f**k me. Just like old times..." she whispered hoarsely.

Absolute chaos erupted in my body instantly. My manhood throbbed wildly under my tight jeans. This is it, I told myself furiously in my head, this is what you need to loosen up, Steven. Instinctively, I closed the distance, grabbed her roughly by the back of her neck without a word, and pressed my lips against hers. She opened them immediately, without a shred of resistance.

The kiss deepened to the point where she was practically devouring me, as if trying to erase everything dirty inside me through this body once and for all.

My hands gripped her slender waist tightly and, without breaking the kiss, I slowly lowered her onto the soft double bed. In two quick steps, I was already positioned high above her.

My hot palms slid across her toned body, over smooth thighs that parted wide on their own under my pressure, as if patiently waiting for this exact touch. I trailed my lips down her neck, gently and provocatively biting her skin, then moving lower... slower and slower, teasing her on purpose. Until I moved down to her chest, where I skillfully unhooked the tiny clasps and removed her blue lace bra in one swift movement.

"You were always good at this foreplay, Steven."

She arched her entire body beneath me and let out that familiar, quiet female gasp. That sinful sound that instantly crawls under your skin and cloud your mind. Her nails dug wildly and uncontrollably deep into my bare back, leaving passionate, bright red streaks across my skin, as if trying to hold onto me forever through her grip.

My breathing accelerated dangerously, my heart pounding like crazy. Everything, absolutely everything inside me was screaming to keep going without mercy.

To completely surrender to the impulse, close my eyes, and finally stop thinking. But right then, at that absolute peak... Something violently intercepted me and froze me from the inside.

Christina

I sat on the luxurious leather couch in the living room alongside my mother, watching the latest TV premiere of the movie Our Fault. Ironically... right at this moment, I was supposed to be on a boat with Nick and the rest of the crew. I know... I turned out to be the biggest i***t. I made a firm promise that I would come, and then in the end, I cold bloodedly flaked on them like total trash and stayed locked in the house.

The phone on the small table in front of us vibrated continuously. Exactly seven missed calls and five messages from Nick, which, of course, I didn't even dare open. Naturally, he's mad as a hornet. And he has every right to be... This time, I was the one who consciously blew things up.

The screen lit up brightly and vibrated for the eighth time. By then, I nervously snatched it up and flipped it screen down onto the table, as if that move would make all those messages magically disappear. As if this growing problem would just put itself out in the dark. But it won't... and I knew that all too well.

Of course, my mother immediately noticed my sudden twitch. She always sees everything and registers it without fail. You can't hide a single thing from that woman in this house, even when you naively imagine you're much smarter than her.

"Aren't you going to answer him?" She looked at me over the edge of her glasses with a judgmental gaze.

"I can't, Mom... I blew it."

She grabbed the remote, paused the movie, and slowly turned her entire body toward me. Wonderful... Now she officially won't leave me in peace until I spill everything from my lips and tell her every last, tiny detail. I'm in for a classic interrogation, worse than at a police station. For sure.

"Talk to me, sweetie. What is going on between the two of you?"

I let out a loud, deep sigh, nervously squeezing the blacked out phone in my fist.

"We got into a fight, Mom. Sometimes he's just so toxic and difficult..."

"Toxic? My sweetie, everything has become toxic nowadays," she shook her head. "On top of all that, Nick is a gorgeous boy. Well mannered, and most importantly, he comes from an extraordinarily respectable and powerful family."

Naturally. For as long as I can remember, that was and remained the only thing that mattered to her in life. For her son in law to be wealthy, influential, and good looking for public display, while everything else didn't matter. My happiness, my peace, and my private life. None of that meant a thing to my dear mother.

My mother had always blindly adored Nick. Even when she put on a fake front of strictness before the world, you could tell from a mile away that she saw him as her dream son in law. The two of them had grown so close and hit it off so well that they would occasionally coordinate our joint trips completely behind my back. I would only find out about those plans much later... When Nick finally decided to tell me, or usually when everything was already paid for and arranged well in advance, without anyone ever asking for my input, as if I were the most irrelevant variable in that equation.

"I know all that, Mom. But... Sometimes I just feel like I'm in a cage when I'm around him. He got mad at me just because I exchanged a few words with the new guy in class."

"Ah... Is that this Steven Stajić?" she asked all of a sudden, deadly serious.

I froze in a split second. I felt the blood drain right out of my face. How on earth did she even know about him?

"How... How do you even know about Steven?"

"You forget, my dear, that your father is a donor to the school. Nowadays, people are remarkably easy to buy with money. Information, even easier. Including reports about that troubled boy's arrival."

That hurt. "Yeah... Damned money..."

"So listen to me very carefully now, Christina. I don't want you having any contact with that boy, not even the smallest bit. He is dangerous, a classic street thug with zero upbringing. Stay away from him, sweetie."

"Why are you saying such horrible things about him when you don't even know him?!" Something inside me snapped. The woman doesn't even know what the guy looks like, yet she's already slandered and judged him without mercy using her toxic words.

"Wait..." My mother narrowed her eyes abruptly, scanning me with suspicion.

"Is he actually the real reason for your sudden fallout with Nick? Have you fallen in love with that savage, Christina?"

"No, Mom!" I cut her off instantly, shouting, trying to hide the tremor in my voice.

"I'm just... I'm just saying Steven isn't bad at all like he looks to you guys from the outside."

And that was a hundred percent true. My truth. And my biggest problem at this moment.

"Christina, my child... I couldn't care less what you had, or what you're currently planning to have with him. As of this second, you cut off every possible contact with that boy. Have I made myself clear enough?"

I felt unstoppable rage burning in my chest. Now she really crossed every boundary...

"Great... Just great! So now you and Nick are going to work together like a well oiled team to dictate who I'm allowed to hang out with and talk to in my own classroom?!" I rolled my eyes furiously.

She was identical to Nick. The exact same pattern. Either everything in life goes a hundred percent their way, or not at all.

"Christina!" She raised her voice. "Your only real prospect is Nick, not Steven. The boy comes from a rich and respectable family. That's what you need in life. Stability, a future, and a quiet life. Not some street thug living hand to mouth..."

"You know what, Mom? Maybe I've been sick to my stomach from all your wealth for a long time now!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, leaping off the couch. My hands were visibly shaking from the built up rage. "Maybe I'm sick of spending my whole life living by some ideal rules that I personally never set!"

"If you don't do exactly as I told you," she spoke eerily calm, waving a finger in front of my nose with a clear threat.

"I will personally request the school principal to have that little Stajić boy expelled on an expedited basis. You know we can do that... Are you sure you want to further ruin that boy's life?"

That's where she really hit the bullseye. Real low, Mother. Hitting me right where it hurts most and threatening your own daughter with ruining someone else's life just to push your agenda to the end. I swallowed a bitter lump, clenching my jaw so I wouldn't snap and break something in front of her.

"Wonderful, Mom... Perfect," I said much quieter, but with a voice dripping with pure venom. "May I go to my room now?"

"What about the movie? You could hardly wait for this premiere."

"I don't feel like watching any movie anymore, I've completely lost the willpower..."

I didn't want to wait for her next response. I turned around without a word, turned my back on her, and walked away at a brisk pace toward my room. Every single step I took down the hallway felt unbelievably heavy. And not because of physical exhaustion... but because of everything that had accumulated in a thick layer inside my chest. Rage, nerves, some strange guilt... and that fourth, most dangerous feeling that I still didn't have the courage to admit even to myself in the dark.

I slammed the door to my room behind me significantly harder than I should have. The sharp sound of wood hitting the frame echoed down the entire hallway, guaranteed to reach all the way to the living room. I leaned my back against the cold door and closed my eyes for a few seconds. God, how I hate this life...

I walked over to the bed and angrily tossed my phone beside me onto the sheet. I sat down. Then I lay down. Then, after half a minute, I nervously sat up again. I couldn't calm my own body down, as if some invisible electric current had gotten under my skin and wouldn't leave me in peace. Not even a full second passed before my phone was back in my palm. Cursed habit...

I unlocked it with my short passcode and instinctively opened i********:. Just to kill time, to keep my fingers busy. So I wouldn't think about Mom, about the cage, about Nick... To escape from this f*****g reality for at least five minutes, if that was even possible in this house.

I scrolled through my i********: feed, but everything looked damn boring. Always the same, monotonous reels and classic, posed photos. And then... Suddenly, his picture popped up on the screen. Steven Stajić. He was standing somewhere on an old bridge, wearing short dark cargo shorts and a black sleeveless shirt that perfectly outlined his lean shoulders.

How masculine he actually is... flashed through my mind in a split second, and my stomach flipped immediately.

My thumb, completely independent of my will, clicked on his profile all on its own. For a few seconds, I just stared motionlessly at the screen light, as if naively expecting something to happen on its own. Of course it won't, Christina. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my heart's crazy pounding, and went straight into his highlights.

I started scrolling through his pictures. Over and over again. Every new photo made him even more attractive in my head. That was more than enough for my imagination to pull my thoughts in a completely different direction in an instant.

I felt my stomach tighten gently, but noticeably, under my silk pajamas. Stupid... Completely crazy and unforgivably stupid of me. But I simply couldn't, nor did I want to, avert my eyes from the screen.

My hand... It felt like it didn't even belong to me in that moment. Slowly, without any conscious thought, without making a decision, and without a shred of regret, it moved down my stomach. It was pure, raw, and unstoppable instinct. I paused for one short moment, aware that I could still stop this madness and pull my hand away. But I didn't. Defiance toward my mother, toward Nick, and toward this entire cage was stronger.

I slid my fingers significantly lower, slipping them underneath the edge of my pajamas and cotton underwear, while my gaze remained hypnotically glued to Steven's picture.

My own body betrayed me and gave me away before I even had time to compose myself and think. My c******s was already completely wet, throbbing in a wild rhythm of its own that begged for more. I closed my eyes tightly. And in that moment, he was right there. I felt him.

It felt as if he were lying on the bed right beside me, shirtless, close enough for me to feel his heat on my own skin. His heavy, direct gaze... He was looking straight into my soul with those dark, magnetically attractive eyes. A heavy, piercing gaze. As if he were perfectly aware of what he was doing to me in this dark room.

I took a deep breath, gasping for air, as my fingers slowly slid deep inside me, then came back out, at a slow but completely controlled pace. Every following motion was a fraction harder and rougher than the last. My body gently arched off the sheet in curves that I couldn't control at all.

My lips parted on their own, and a quiet, sinful gasp escaped into the open, shattering the silence of the empty, darkened room.

My fingers entered deeper and deeper, as a sweet pain mixed in a thick layer with pure pleasure. That beautiful, dull ache that makes you pray to God it never stops. Every new, rhythmic stroke tore down the last remaining barrier between those two intense feelings.

My throat couldn't hold back the pressure and stay silent any longer. His name, barely audible but painfully sincere, echoed through my room. In my mind... In my mind, I felt only his rough fingers possessing me. His distinct scent, the firmness of his lean, toned body above mine.

The final boundary between painstaking control and complete surrender began to disappear uncontrollably. And then... Everything cut through me all at once.

Like a violent shockwave through my entire body. I froze on the spot and literally held my breath for one long, tense second. And then I silently surrendered to that huge, hot wave that completely washed over me and broke me.

I bit down hard on my own lower lip, almost to the blood, just so I wouldn't let out a loud cry in the silence of the house. My hands trembled uncontrollably against the sheet. And only then, as my heart pounded wildly in my chest, did I realize just how far I had actually gone. And all over a guy I barely even know.

I didn't even notice at what exact moment, completely exhausted, I fell asleep with the phone in my hand. I only remember that the rest of the night was terribly heavy, fragmented by bad dreams... and that my head was filled until dawn with everything that, by all the unwritten rules of my world, I was never supposed to even think about.

Unlike last time, I arrived at school early today. I was the first to step into the classroom, half awake, and take my seat. I dropped my heavy backpack listlessly beside my chair and just leaned limply against the backrest, fixing my eyes on the empty wooden desks in front of me.

Everything felt strangely tense from the very second I crossed the school threshold.

The classroom was half empty, unusually quiet for this time of day. Other students were slowly walking in in small groups, taking their seats, laughing quietly, talking about irrelevant things...

They acted like everything was in perfect order. But to me, absolutely nothing felt normal this morning. My eyes kept anxiously darting on their own toward the open classroom door. Once... then again after half a minute. And again. But of the three key figures Nick, Michael, and Steven. There was still no trace or sign.

At first, it crossed my mind that Nick was simply late with Michael. Which in itself was already strange. Nick was meticulous. He was never late to first class in his life. Then the thought crossed my mind that maybe they wouldn't even show up to school today. And honestly... in that moment, I felt a huge, sudden wave of relief.

A heavy weight lifted off my chest. At least I wouldn't have to face his anger and that possessive look first thing in the morning. I know all too well how miserable that would look. Another terrifying fight, shifting blame, and in the end, all of it once again because of me and my actions.

On the other hand... Steven. He hadn't shown up to school yesterday after that incident either. He won't today either, I was convinced of that. Maybe the guy is just sick... or maybe it's something else entirely. Something that, I comforted myself, had nothing to do with me. And yet, I caught myself obsessively overthinking about him and analyzing his every move way more than any girl in my position should ever allow herself to.

Why am I even thinking about it so much? I'm consciously filling my own head with these stupid, paranoid theories.

"Get it together..." I muttered very quietly through my teeth, lowering my panicked gaze to the wooden desk surface.

At that moment, the classroom door swung open abruptly and loudly. All of us in class instinctively turned our eyes toward the entrance on cue. First to step inside was the history teacher, thick gradebook in hand, cold and deadly serious as always. And right behind her, in a split second, walked in Nick and Michael.

They walked in together, laughing loudly and relaxed, as if they were late to a good private party rather than a class. Michael was throwing out half loud comments to the guys in the front desks along the way, while Nick laughed self satisfied. He looked unbelievably calm, as if absolutely nothing in this world could touch him, but in those cold, light eyes of his... I could clearly, without mistake, recognize that terrifying look of pure revenge.

He glanced at me for just one brief, icy second, just enough to let me know he registered me, and then demonstratively looked away and took his seat in the desk in front of me, right beside Michael. He acted as if I no longer existed for him in this room at all.

He definitely did something, I can feel it...