As I readied for the hell called high school excitement jumped through my veins. He wanted to see me. Despite the inevitable fallout, I agreed.
Should I tell Chelle about him? I didn't know. Maybe, until I understood what was going on, I should keep it to myself.
He probably had a girlfriend. I'd likely interpreted everything wrong. He was just a 'friend' just an acquaintance.
Still, I danced on the path to the front door, flew through the halls. Lessons seemed like kindergarten stuff.
My giddiness was contagious. Even the vipers half nodded and smiled as I passed on my way to meet Chelle and Debbie in the library.
"Hey fuck face," a guy called as another stuck out his foot to trip me, and a girl pushed from behind.
This was an overplayed trick. I'd long since learned to step high, rebalance and pretend nothing happened.
As I did, a jock grabbed the name caller, pulled him down, whispered something in his ear.
The guy who called me 'fuck face' turned white backing away. "Sorry," he mumbled lowering his eyes.
This was new. What story was spreading about me now? It didn't matter. Whatever it was, didn't matter. I thought of turquoise eyes, an intense gaze, and a hello that lingered like a kiss. I looked at my hand still amazed someone so gorgeous held it.
The girl passed shoving me. There was an extra dose of poison in her eyes. She wanted me dead. I didn't know why. As she passed the jock looked down ashamed. She was pretty, had her pick of men, what could I have possibly done to put a fly up her cock tail?
Shaking it off I found Chelle in line for pizza just outside the library. No longer alone I went on autopilot and let my mind wander back to Lee.
Warm, tingling, I barely registered when lunch was over and it was time to get back to books. I said bye to Chelle and Debbie completely oblivious to whatever they were talking about though I heard Cole's name mentioned a few times.
No two people had ever been so perfect together as Cole and Chelle. I wanted that. The two lost themselves in each other, created their own universe and I wasn't a part of it. I envied them.
The last two hours dragged on and on as I waited for the bell to ring. When it did I bolted out of my seat but got grabbed by Mel for help with the homework.
As we went over quadratic equations and how to calculate the slope of x, I felt a growing nearness of fire and power.
"Hey dictionary, you're so ugly you make my grandpa's turd look like Pamela Anderson."
I didn't look up. I finished explaining the problem.
I wanted to hurry. I wanted to see him. Even if it was just for a moment before another girl caught his interest.
"Webster Anus, I'm talking to you." The incompetent grabbed my shoulder.
Normally I ignored the menial derision. In this moment though I had something to fight for. "I'm sorry."
At the clod's confusion, I expounded. "I was mistaken. I assumed you were a troglodyte when you're a coprophiliac. I wonder, is fucking your grandad's shit incest?" I smiled waiting for his brain to translate context.
Twenty seconds later his face turned red. His fist came swiftly after. Expecting it I sidestepped, grabbed his arm and pulled twisting my body to avoid his massive girth and used his own momentum against him. He crashed into the desks behind Mel.
"Mel, you good?" I asked. When she nodded, I grabbed my stuff and bolted before Incompetent recovered. I would pay for the insolence, but for the moment it was worth it. I cut through the gym just in case Incompetent decided to follow.
Next time, he would have friends with him. I planned out a few sharp barbs about how his manhood couldn't take a girly girl like me all by itself because it was a half-sized micro dick.
A strategy formed, I headed for the commons where the fire of Lee blazed waiting to consume me.
Lee stood by the front pillar surrounded by light his long black trench coat hung like a shroud of death warning those around him to steer clear.
Men gave him space but girls gawked, ogled, giggled, and a few even dared approach. He rebuffed the advances. One girl pressed her cleavage against him falling all over him nearly undressing in the process. She had great boobs but he didn't seem to notice.
Lee pushed her away disgusted when she attempted to place a slobbery kiss on his mouth.
He didn't see me. I walked along the wall in shadows drinking him in. He was like a god scanning the crowd. After seeing the way he rebuffed every other girls' advances I anticipated the same treatment.
Note to self, players never let themselves be claimed in public.
Aware of the game I didn't walk directly to him, instead I took a path that intersected his line of sight. If he wanted to humiliate me, I wasn't going to make it easy.
He grabbed my arm lightly. Our eyes met. "I was looking for you." Lee scowled. His gaze flickered to my lips.
Unprepared for anything but a nod, my knees weakened. Stupid knees. For a moment I couldn't say anything. His behavior was ridiculous. Everyone could see us and he was acting like I was more than just a naive little idiot he wanted to seduce.
"He-here I am." I tried to smile but it was clumsy and weird. "Now what?" I nearly choked on my nerves.
"Josh and Jeremy are meeting us here." Lee glanced around, his hand on my arm. People were looking, staring, whispering.
I tried to pull away. This was stupid. I couldn't have anything normal or good or him.
John was miles out of my league and Lee, Lee was in a league of his own, a league I would never touch the barest edges of.
"Aren't you going to hug me?" His voice was nervous. Lee was aware of the audience but he didn't see the situation quite the same as I did.
Expecting my head to be chopped off I hugged him. I meant it to be quick, friendly, but Lee held on and I didn't want to let go. My body against his, thawed relaxed.
I'd done my best to cut out emotion, it wasn't worth it to feel. I played and pretended but I was numb. Last year I'd slit my wrists just to see if I was still alive. I half expected to find ice in my veins. When red leaked out I was perplexed.
Lee was bit by bit chopping away the ice. It was a stupid teenage fling. It was meaningless, I told myself pulling away.
Lee let go but he didn't seem happy about it.
At that moment Chelle found us. She came bouncing up, unlike her usual slow walk of head down and body shrunk to as small as possible. "Hey Ashley," she grinned her eyes going up and down Lee.
My stomach flipped with nerves. Maybe I should have told her about Lee. Only what was there to tell? A sinfully sexy as Satan himself man held my hand. It wasn't much to tell.
"Lee, this is Lachelle, my best friend."
Lee stiffened, he stopped the brooding act and his manner went from 'I'm going to kill you if you look at me wrong' to an overly polite boy next door. Even his voice was different. "Hi, it's a pleasure to meet you." Lee shook her hand but didn't hold on to it. He didn't make certain her eyes met his or that he got a long look in the windows of her soul.
Her response though startled me. Chelle went from reserved and soft-spoken to touching Lee's arm and laughing at everything he said. I could feel the sudden crack in the foundation of her and Cole's relationship.
I couldn't blame Lachelle for the way she responded. Every girl had the same response to Lee. The air was perfumed with teenager girls in heat. Cheerleaders and freaks alike gawked at him. Inwardly, I cringed no doubt they would destroy the most incredible thing to happen in my life. It was best if I didn't get too attached. I backed away giving Chelle and whoever else space with him.
Lee didn't seem to want that though and followed. "Where are you going?" He asked, matching his footsteps with mine.
"Um," I stopped. My face warmed, not warm enough for a blush to be visible, but enough to where I decided to slow my breathing."Just the vending machine." My eyes dropped to the floor as I lied. Lee grabbed my hand and glared at the harem. Astonishingly all but a few dispersed, once that was 'taken care of' he returned to Chelle and the others.
"Oh Lee," a girl called with flawless bronze skin and long thick hair. She wasn't petite but she was beautiful in the way one would imagine an amazon goddess.
Lee seemed to know her. He smiled and she sashayed her way over. Every sway of her hips screamed 'Fuck me, baby. You know you want to.'
I dropped some quarters in the vending machine and pressed the button for apple juice. When I turned around, the girl was mauling Lee, frisking his body looking for something. Lee looked at me his cheeks red. Was he embarrassed?
I walked back only to reassure him it didn't matter. He probably couldn't go anywhere without getting mauled like meat in a bear's cage. When the girl grabbed him between the legs, he grabbed her wrists and forced her off. She struggled against the space between them but he held firm.
"Kwani," his voice was sharp. She stopped struggling. "Meet Ashley." He nodded his head in my direction. Kwani backed off and Lee took my hand.
Kwani took one look at me and snorted. If he was going to tolerate her sexual assault, I could tolerate a bit of rudeness for the sake of their friendship. I set the apple juice on the floor, held out my free hand, and pasted on a smile.
She grabbed on squeezing, trying to make it hurt. Only my hands unlike the rest of me were strong. Being the youngest of four sisters who loved getting massages I spent endless days building up those muscles.
I squeezed back with a tiny bit of pressure. She pulled away and I let go. My hands were capable of eighty-nine psi last I did a grip test. Enough to break a bone if I chose.
Lee's friends showed up in the midst of this. Lee let go of my hand to greet them and Kwani dragged us into a nearby hallway.
Kwani reassessed me. "You have strong hands," she glanced at my pants. "I bet the rest of you isn't so strong. She pulled up her pants and showed off some massive calf muscles.
"You have beautiful legs," I attempted to appease her.
She wasn't appeased. Kwani grabbed my pant legs pulling them up. She began laughing.
I usually wore pants even in the summer and my legs were white scrawny sticks. Kwani pushed me down and pulled my pant legs up higher. I tried to stop her but she was determined to get her way. She sat on my chest clenched her jaw and pulled my pants up past my knees.
Once she had me pinned she called "Lee," getting his attention. He looked over and I tried not to cry at the humiliation of him seeing me flat on my back one leg held in the air while Kwani's knees pressed my shoulders to the floor and she held my pant leg up as far as it would go.
Lee's face went from laughing and relaxed to demonic in a split second. Kwani didn't seem to notice as Lee strode toward us.
"Look at her chicken legs! From now on that's your name, Ugly White Chicken Legs." She laughed expecting Lee to join in.
Lee pulled her up. "Let's talk." They walked away. I pulled down my pant legs, got up and brushed off. High school floors were never very clean.
Lee pulled something from his jacket it reflected the light but their bodies blocked the view and I couldn't see what it was. Kwani's face paled.
Lee didn't realize how an almost empty school carried his voice. "You got a problem with her, you got a problem with me. Got that?"
Kwani nodded and he put the object back in his pocket.
"Apologize," he said letting her go.
Kwani went from walking like an Amazon to a scared rabbit. "Sorry," she choked out, tears in her eyes. Kwani exited the school with her tail between her legs.
Lee returned as though nothing happened. Chelle was talking to his friends but kept her back to Lee as though Kwani wasn't the only person he'd said something to. As a group, we exited the high school.
Reeling from the events, waiting for Lee to tell me it was fun but he didn't need the drama I walked in silence keeping several feet of distance between us. Lee kept glancing my way but I ignored his searching looks.
No one seemed to have an idea of where to go or what to do. Lee's apartment would take a while to walk to. Chelle's house was close but the idea of exposing everyone to the stench of cat urine, ferret feces, old cigarettes and mountains of dirty dishes with rotting food turned my stomach.
I loved Chelle, her parents were another story. I'd never met two more self-involved, fucked up people than them. Empty beer bottles and Snapps littered her house.
When her parents were home and not out partying they were smoking on the couch, watching tv, emptying more bottles, yelling at Chelle to fix dinner, do the laundry, and take care of her two siblings. Chelle meanwhile had a massive course load most of which were college classes.
She hung out with us for as long as she could before rushing back to her personal fire and brimstone called family.
Too quickly winter beat back the warmth of the sun and I began shivering. Lee's eyes caught mine. I could tell he was thinking, but what I didn't know.
"Hey let me borrow your phone for a sec," he said to one of his friends. Josh, tossed him a flip phone. Lee walked away. Was he calling his girlfriend telling her he was going to be late? It didn't make sense, he wouldn't have been seen with me so openly if he had a girlfriend.
Jeremy and Josh asked about Chelle and wondered if I had any other friends I might 'hook them up with.' I mentioned Debbie and eyed Josh wondering if I was wrong about the chemistry I'd picked up between him and Nick, but maybe he swung both ways.
Of course, I wasn't an option. Even if Lee did have a girlfriend, he'd made it clear they weren't allowed to touch me. Any time one of them came close to doing so, he'd cleared his throat and gave them an intense stare until they backed away.
It felt like I'd fallen inside an S.E. Hinton novel. It was inhuman the way Lee affected those around him. I wasn't immune to it either. He had a power that neither wealth nor fame could give. It vibrated in the air around him. Whispered in the trees as he walked beneath the branches.
"Let's go," Lee said returning from his phone call. His hand stretched out once again for mine. Finishing the apple juice I tossed the bottle in the trash before taking Lee's hand.
Lee led us to I.G.A. a grocery store only a block from the school. "Is it warm enough in here for you?" Lee asked when I didn't stop shivering.
"I don't warm up easily," I hadn't meant it as a reference to all the other girls who were ready to fuck him anywhere anytime in front of anyone but he laughed as though I had a sense of humor.
Lee, trailed a finger down my cheek, my jaw, my neck, "I'll warm you up." He was being suggestive, sexy, flirtatious.
It could just be a game but after what happened at the school the idea he was just using me wasn't as plausible.
Guilt gnawed inside. I should warn him, tell him not to dive down this rabbit hole. He would learn soon enough. It was selfish but I just wanted to enjoy this however long it lasted.
No guy in school was brave enough to risk dating me. Lee wasn't in school, he was nineteen. That he could have any girl and chose me, it was like being in a dream that for just a short while reality couldn't intrude upon.
Josh's phone rang.
"That's for me," Lee said.
Josh didn't even glance at the screen just tossed the phone to Lee.
Lee opened the phone, "Hey, are you outside?" Lee paused listening. "We'll be out in a bit." Lee closed the phone and tossed it back to Josh. "You guys good here?"
Jeremy nodded.
Josh shrugged.
Lee grabbed my hand pulling me along with him.
Outside a beat-up black car idled. Lee opened the door and popped the seat forward. I crawled into the back. The car smelled of cigarettes. The ashtray was full. The driver was a pretty blond smoking a cigarette.
"Hi," I said wondering if this was Lee's girlfriend and if I was the dumbest person on planet earth. "I'm Ashley."
Expecting Lee to get in the front seat I pulled it back.
Lee dipped in the car for a moment grabbed the ashtray and emptied it into the parking lot. Once done he popped the seat again and climbed in back taking my hand. My eyes widened. My heart raced.
"Thanks for the ride," Lee said staring at me and talking to the blond. She shrugged. She didn't seem inclined to talk. Something big was on her mind.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Custody issues," she said trying to hide the pain that shuddered through her body. "I'm Sarah."
Lee took his eyes off me. "Anything I can do?"
Sarah's lips thinned in the rearview mirror. "I'll let you know." She sighed. "Where are we going?"
"Back to my place?" Lee answered her but asked me.
I shrugged, it didn't matter to me where we went as long as we were together.
Once there Lee asked Sarah if she wanted to come up. She shook her long blond hair and sniffed.
I had a strong suspicion what she needed was time to fall apart.
Lee and I walked up the stairs separately. He kept looking at me as though trying to figure something out. I, on the other hand, avoided looking at him. His face was painfully beautiful. On the last flight of stairs, Lee took my hand.
Was it because he needed a claim in case his perfect looking roommate was there? Did I need to reassure him, that Stewart had the same appeal to me as the ink that made the pictures in magazines? Lee was far more exquisite to behold than the carved adonis he lived with.
Lee moved with a sensuality, a wildness, a raw power of experience. He'd known pain and ecstasy. Stewart, by comparison, was an empty vacuum and Lee an endless universe to explore.
Stewart would probably talk about protein drinks, cars, and sports, the same as all the rich guys at school. The poor boys talked about horses, rodeos and owning their own trucks to haul water or oil for the only industry this town offered.
All those subjects bored me. Lee, on the other hand, captivated me. The desire to know him fired every neuron, dendrite, and axion of my mind.
Should I tell Chelle about him? I didn't know. Maybe, until I understood what was going on, I should keep it to myself.
He probably had a girlfriend. I'd likely interpreted everything wrong. He was just a 'friend' just an acquaintance.
Still, I danced on the path to the front door, flew through the halls. Lessons seemed like kindergarten stuff.
My giddiness was contagious. Even the vipers half nodded and smiled as I passed on my way to meet Chelle and Debbie in the library.
"Hey fuck face," a guy called as another stuck out his foot to trip me, and a girl pushed from behind.
This was an overplayed trick. I'd long since learned to step high, rebalance and pretend nothing happened.
As I did, a jock grabbed the name caller, pulled him down, whispered something in his ear.
The guy who called me 'fuck face' turned white backing away. "Sorry," he mumbled lowering his eyes.
This was new. What story was spreading about me now? It didn't matter. Whatever it was, didn't matter. I thought of turquoise eyes, an intense gaze, and a hello that lingered like a kiss. I looked at my hand still amazed someone so gorgeous held it.
The girl passed shoving me. There was an extra dose of poison in her eyes. She wanted me dead. I didn't know why. As she passed the jock looked down ashamed. She was pretty, had her pick of men, what could I have possibly done to put a fly up her cock tail?
Shaking it off I found Chelle in line for pizza just outside the library. No longer alone I went on autopilot and let my mind wander back to Lee.
Warm, tingling, I barely registered when lunch was over and it was time to get back to books. I said bye to Chelle and Debbie completely oblivious to whatever they were talking about though I heard Cole's name mentioned a few times.
No two people had ever been so perfect together as Cole and Chelle. I wanted that. The two lost themselves in each other, created their own universe and I wasn't a part of it. I envied them.
The last two hours dragged on and on as I waited for the bell to ring. When it did I bolted out of my seat but got grabbed by Mel for help with the homework.
As we went over quadratic equations and how to calculate the slope of x, I felt a growing nearness of fire and power.
"Hey dictionary, you're so ugly you make my grandpa's turd look like Pamela Anderson."
I didn't look up. I finished explaining the problem.
I wanted to hurry. I wanted to see him. Even if it was just for a moment before another girl caught his interest.
"Webster Anus, I'm talking to you." The incompetent grabbed my shoulder.
Normally I ignored the menial derision. In this moment though I had something to fight for. "I'm sorry."
At the clod's confusion, I expounded. "I was mistaken. I assumed you were a troglodyte when you're a coprophiliac. I wonder, is fucking your grandad's shit incest?" I smiled waiting for his brain to translate context.
Twenty seconds later his face turned red. His fist came swiftly after. Expecting it I sidestepped, grabbed his arm and pulled twisting my body to avoid his massive girth and used his own momentum against him. He crashed into the desks behind Mel.
"Mel, you good?" I asked. When she nodded, I grabbed my stuff and bolted before Incompetent recovered. I would pay for the insolence, but for the moment it was worth it. I cut through the gym just in case Incompetent decided to follow.
Next time, he would have friends with him. I planned out a few sharp barbs about how his manhood couldn't take a girly girl like me all by itself because it was a half-sized micro dick.
Lee stood by the front pillar surrounded by light his long black trench coat hung like a shroud of death warning those around him to steer clear.
Men gave him space but girls gawked, ogled, giggled, and a few even dared approach. He rebuffed the advances. One girl pressed her cleavage against him falling all over him nearly undressing in the process. She had great boobs but he didn't seem to notice.
Lee pushed her away disgusted when she attempted to place a slobbery kiss on his mouth.
He didn't see me. I walked along the wall in shadows drinking him in. He was like a god scanning the crowd. After seeing the way he rebuffed every other girls' advances I anticipated the same treatment.
Note to self, players never let themselves be claimed in public.
Aware of the game I didn't walk directly to him, instead I took a path that intersected his line of sight. If he wanted to humiliate me, I wasn't going to make it easy.
He grabbed my arm lightly. Our eyes met. "I was looking for you." Lee scowled. His gaze flickered to my lips.
Unprepared for anything but a nod, my knees weakened. Stupid knees. For a moment I couldn't say anything. His behavior was ridiculous. Everyone could see us and he was acting like I was more than just a naive little idiot he wanted to seduce.
"He-here I am." I tried to smile but it was clumsy and weird. "Now what?" I nearly choked on my nerves.
"Josh and Jeremy are meeting us here." Lee glanced around, his hand on my arm. People were looking, staring, whispering.
I tried to pull away. This was stupid. I couldn't have anything normal or good or him.
John was miles out of my league and Lee, Lee was in a league of his own, a league I would never touch the barest edges of.
"Aren't you going to hug me?" His voice was nervous. Lee was aware of the audience but he didn't see the situation quite the same as I did.
Expecting my head to be chopped off I hugged him. I meant it to be quick, friendly, but Lee held on and I didn't want to let go. My body against his, thawed relaxed.
Lee was bit by bit chopping away the ice. It was a stupid teenage fling. It was meaningless, I told myself pulling away.
Lee let go but he didn't seem happy about it.
At that moment Chelle found us. She came bouncing up, unlike her usual slow walk of head down and body shrunk to as small as possible. "Hey Ashley," she grinned her eyes going up and down Lee.
My stomach flipped with nerves. Maybe I should have told her about Lee. Only what was there to tell? A sinfully sexy as Satan himself man held my hand. It wasn't much to tell.
"Lee, this is Lachelle, my best friend."
Lee stiffened, he stopped the brooding act and his manner went from 'I'm going to kill you if you look at me wrong' to an overly polite boy next door. Even his voice was different. "Hi, it's a pleasure to meet you." Lee shook her hand but didn't hold on to it. He didn't make certain her eyes met his or that he got a long look in the windows of her soul.
Her response though startled me. Chelle went from reserved and soft-spoken to touching Lee's arm and laughing at everything he said. I could feel the sudden crack in the foundation of her and Cole's relationship.
I couldn't blame Lachelle for the way she responded. Every girl had the same response to Lee. The air was perfumed with teenager girls in heat. Cheerleaders and freaks alike gawked at him. Inwardly, I cringed no doubt they would destroy the most incredible thing to happen in my life. It was best if I didn't get too attached. I backed away giving Chelle and whoever else space with him.
Lee didn't seem to want that though and followed. "Where are you going?" He asked, matching his footsteps with mine.
"Um," I stopped. My face warmed, not warm enough for a blush to be visible, but enough to where I decided to slow my breathing."Just the vending machine." My eyes dropped to the floor as I lied. Lee grabbed my hand and glared at the harem. Astonishingly all but a few dispersed, once that was 'taken care of' he returned to Chelle and the others.
"Oh Lee," a girl called with flawless bronze skin and long thick hair. She wasn't petite but she was beautiful in the way one would imagine an amazon goddess.
Lee seemed to know her. He smiled and she sashayed her way over. Every sway of her hips screamed 'Fuck me, baby. You know you want to.'
I dropped some quarters in the vending machine and pressed the button for apple juice. When I turned around, the girl was mauling Lee, frisking his body looking for something. Lee looked at me his cheeks red. Was he embarrassed?
I walked back only to reassure him it didn't matter. He probably couldn't go anywhere without getting mauled like meat in a bear's cage. When the girl grabbed him between the legs, he grabbed her wrists and forced her off. She struggled against the space between them but he held firm.
"Kwani," his voice was sharp. She stopped struggling. "Meet Ashley." He nodded his head in my direction. Kwani backed off and Lee took my hand.
Kwani took one look at me and snorted. If he was going to tolerate her sexual assault, I could tolerate a bit of rudeness for the sake of their friendship. I set the apple juice on the floor, held out my free hand, and pasted on a smile.
She grabbed on squeezing, trying to make it hurt. Only my hands unlike the rest of me were strong. Being the youngest of four sisters who loved getting massages I spent endless days building up those muscles.
I squeezed back with a tiny bit of pressure. She pulled away and I let go. My hands were capable of eighty-nine psi last I did a grip test. Enough to break a bone if I chose.
Lee's friends showed up in the midst of this. Lee let go of my hand to greet them and Kwani dragged us into a nearby hallway.
Kwani reassessed me. "You have strong hands," she glanced at my pants. "I bet the rest of you isn't so strong. She pulled up her pants and showed off some massive calf muscles.
"You have beautiful legs," I attempted to appease her.
She wasn't appeased. Kwani grabbed my pant legs pulling them up. She began laughing.
I usually wore pants even in the summer and my legs were white scrawny sticks. Kwani pushed me down and pulled my pant legs up higher. I tried to stop her but she was determined to get her way. She sat on my chest clenched her jaw and pulled my pants up past my knees.
Once she had me pinned she called "Lee," getting his attention. He looked over and I tried not to cry at the humiliation of him seeing me flat on my back one leg held in the air while Kwani's knees pressed my shoulders to the floor and she held my pant leg up as far as it would go.
Lee's face went from laughing and relaxed to demonic in a split second. Kwani didn't seem to notice as Lee strode toward us.
"Look at her chicken legs! From now on that's your name, Ugly White Chicken Legs." She laughed expecting Lee to join in.
Lee pulled her up. "Let's talk." They walked away. I pulled down my pant legs, got up and brushed off. High school floors were never very clean.
Lee pulled something from his jacket it reflected the light but their bodies blocked the view and I couldn't see what it was. Kwani's face paled.
Lee didn't realize how an almost empty school carried his voice. "You got a problem with her, you got a problem with me. Got that?"
Kwani nodded and he put the object back in his pocket.
"Apologize," he said letting her go.
Kwani went from walking like an Amazon to a scared rabbit. "Sorry," she choked out, tears in her eyes. Kwani exited the school with her tail between her legs.
Lee returned as though nothing happened. Chelle was talking to his friends but kept her back to Lee as though Kwani wasn't the only person he'd said something to. As a group, we exited the high school.
Reeling from the events, waiting for Lee to tell me it was fun but he didn't need the drama I walked in silence keeping several feet of distance between us. Lee kept glancing my way but I ignored his searching looks.
No one seemed to have an idea of where to go or what to do. Lee's apartment would take a while to walk to. Chelle's house was close but the idea of exposing everyone to the stench of cat urine, ferret feces, old cigarettes and mountains of dirty dishes with rotting food turned my stomach.
I loved Chelle, her parents were another story. I'd never met two more self-involved, fucked up people than them. Empty beer bottles and Snapps littered her house.
When her parents were home and not out partying they were smoking on the couch, watching tv, emptying more bottles, yelling at Chelle to fix dinner, do the laundry, and take care of her two siblings. Chelle meanwhile had a massive course load most of which were college classes.
She hung out with us for as long as she could before rushing back to her personal fire and brimstone called family.
Too quickly winter beat back the warmth of the sun and I began shivering. Lee's eyes caught mine. I could tell he was thinking, but what I didn't know.
"Hey let me borrow your phone for a sec," he said to one of his friends. Josh, tossed him a flip phone. Lee walked away. Was he calling his girlfriend telling her he was going to be late? It didn't make sense, he wouldn't have been seen with me so openly if he had a girlfriend.
Jeremy and Josh asked about Chelle and wondered if I had any other friends I might 'hook them up with.' I mentioned Debbie and eyed Josh wondering if I was wrong about the chemistry I'd picked up between him and Nick, but maybe he swung both ways.
Of course, I wasn't an option. Even if Lee did have a girlfriend, he'd made it clear they weren't allowed to touch me. Any time one of them came close to doing so, he'd cleared his throat and gave them an intense stare until they backed away.
It felt like I'd fallen inside an S.E. Hinton novel. It was inhuman the way Lee affected those around him. I wasn't immune to it either. He had a power that neither wealth nor fame could give. It vibrated in the air around him. Whispered in the trees as he walked beneath the branches.
"Let's go," Lee said returning from his phone call. His hand stretched out once again for mine. Finishing the apple juice I tossed the bottle in the trash before taking Lee's hand.
Lee led us to I.G.A. a grocery store only a block from the school. "Is it warm enough in here for you?" Lee asked when I didn't stop shivering.
"I don't warm up easily," I hadn't meant it as a reference to all the other girls who were ready to fuck him anywhere anytime in front of anyone but he laughed as though I had a sense of humor.
Lee, trailed a finger down my cheek, my jaw, my neck, "I'll warm you up." He was being suggestive, sexy, flirtatious.
It could just be a game but after what happened at the school the idea he was just using me wasn't as plausible.
Guilt gnawed inside. I should warn him, tell him not to dive down this rabbit hole. He would learn soon enough. It was selfish but I just wanted to enjoy this however long it lasted.
No guy in school was brave enough to risk dating me. Lee wasn't in school, he was nineteen. That he could have any girl and chose me, it was like being in a dream that for just a short while reality couldn't intrude upon.
Josh's phone rang.
"That's for me," Lee said.
Josh didn't even glance at the screen just tossed the phone to Lee.
Lee opened the phone, "Hey, are you outside?" Lee paused listening. "We'll be out in a bit." Lee closed the phone and tossed it back to Josh. "You guys good here?"
Jeremy nodded.
Josh shrugged.
Lee grabbed my hand pulling me along with him.
Outside a beat-up black car idled. Lee opened the door and popped the seat forward. I crawled into the back. The car smelled of cigarettes. The ashtray was full. The driver was a pretty blond smoking a cigarette.
"Hi," I said wondering if this was Lee's girlfriend and if I was the dumbest person on planet earth. "I'm Ashley."
Expecting Lee to get in the front seat I pulled it back.
Lee dipped in the car for a moment grabbed the ashtray and emptied it into the parking lot. Once done he popped the seat again and climbed in back taking my hand. My eyes widened. My heart raced.
"Thanks for the ride," Lee said staring at me and talking to the blond. She shrugged. She didn't seem inclined to talk. Something big was on her mind.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"Custody issues," she said trying to hide the pain that shuddered through her body. "I'm Sarah."
Lee took his eyes off me. "Anything I can do?"
Sarah's lips thinned in the rearview mirror. "I'll let you know." She sighed. "Where are we going?"
"Back to my place?" Lee answered her but asked me.
I shrugged, it didn't matter to me where we went as long as we were together.
Once there Lee asked Sarah if she wanted to come up. She shook her long blond hair and sniffed.
I had a strong suspicion what she needed was time to fall apart.
Lee and I walked up the stairs separately. He kept looking at me as though trying to figure something out. I, on the other hand, avoided looking at him. His face was painfully beautiful. On the last flight of stairs, Lee took my hand.
Was it because he needed a claim in case his perfect looking roommate was there? Did I need to reassure him, that Stewart had the same appeal to me as the ink that made the pictures in magazines? Lee was far more exquisite to behold than the carved adonis he lived with.
Lee moved with a sensuality, a wildness, a raw power of experience. He'd known pain and ecstasy. Stewart, by comparison, was an empty vacuum and Lee an endless universe to explore.
Stewart would probably talk about protein drinks, cars, and sports, the same as all the rich guys at school. The poor boys talked about horses, rodeos and owning their own trucks to haul water or oil for the only industry this town offered.
All those subjects bored me. Lee, on the other hand, captivated me. The desire to know him fired every neuron, dendrite, and axion of my mind.
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for caring enough to comment! You are awesome!