Chapter One
http://ashrienlives.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-best-bad-boy-chapter-one.html
Chapter Two
January 17, 2000
After school, I didn't want to go home. My stepdad would find something to criticize and fight about no matter what and I was afraid of being alone with him. The way he looked at me made my skin crawl. I hated going home these days.
I guess somehow just being an adult makes someone right, though I never did understand what he was fighting with me about as he rubbed his chest against my breasts and separated my knees so he could move in closer.
The library wasn't far. I'd read nearly every book in my favorite genre but maybe there would be something new.
When I arrived, I smiled at Lori, my cousin, working behind the desk. I tried to get to know her over the years but she shied away from me. Family history, not exactly a feud, but close enough.
It seemed no matter what situation I was in, I was destined to be a lepper. After checking the fantasy section and finding no new McCaffrey or Lackey and no other books that peaked my interest I gave up.
Luckily the computers were free which was rare since the high-speed internet came to town. The library was quieter than usual. The musty smell and solitude were welcome friends.
In the midst of studying ancient religions for a class, a hand fell on my shoulder. I jumped spinning like a cat in midair.
Nick the only gay guy in a town of religious super hypocrites laughed at me. I jumped up happy to see him. Nick wasn't someone I knew well but he was as out of place in Mormonville as I was. "What are you doing back?" I squealed hugging him. I'd thought he'd gone to college or anywhere but here after graduating a year ago.
Nick liked me because I didn't care he was gay. I thought it kind of rocked. I had two uncles who were gay and they were the best in the world to hang out with! It'd been years since I saw them. Banished for being gay by a family that let a child molester babysit at every family gathering. Sometimes it felt like my family was part of the mob and completely insane.
"The real world didn't agree with me, so I'm back at my parents." Nick's eyes darted from side to side. Was it shame of being back home or something else?
He avoided looking me in the eyes so I didn't press him.
Lori approached, "The library is closing, soon, so if you two have any books you might want to check them out now."
"It's only six," I argued. It was payroll week and my mom wouldn't be back from her job for a few more hours and it was too cold outside to walk home from here and the bus had long since gone.
"It's Martin Luther King day," Lori persisted.
You'd think this would have come up at school, but in a town so whitewashed it was easy to forget black people existed, it hadn't. Another reason I wished I lived anywhere else.
Nick must have seen the panic in my eyes as I imagined freezing to death in the bitter cold. The sun was setting. "Want to come back to my place? My mom is there but she's cool."
I knew Nick from a few parties back when several friends still remained. Since they graduated and went on to better things, Chelle was all I had but now she had Cole and we didn't hang out as much.
Nick waited for my answer. I barely knew him. He was gay. Did that make him safe? I'd never gone home with a guy except one and he... I avoid thinking about it. His mom had been there too.
Nick's house or freeze to death? Nick's smiled at me backing away slightly as if he could feel the anxiety dripping off me.
"Yeah, that will be fun!" I grinned at him with forced enthusiasm.
As we walked the streets darkened, my nervousness grew. Main street was up ahead and an idea popped into my head. "Want to go to Marion's?" I asked Nick brightly.
"Uh, I don't have any money on me." His face turned red. He put his hands in his pockets and walked faster.
I stopped and checked my bag. A couple dollars, it wasn't much but maybe it could get us a hot drink to split and if I spent enough time checking out the displays, my mom could pick me up there.
"If you don't mind sharing I think I have enough for something." I waited. Nick shifted on his feet. "If nothing else I want to warm up. You coming?" I started walking. Taking charge wasn't feminine but since Nick was gay, did it matter? And by now my hands were burning from the cold.
Once inside I looked at the menu the prices were far more reasonable than the school cafeteria offered. I counted the change. Enough for one hot chocolate with a little left over.
The smell of hamburgers cooking made my stomach growl. Eating meat wasn't something I did often but suddenly I felt starved. Nick came in while I was ordering.
"One hot chocolate split into to two glasses," I said worried, "unless that's extra?"
One of the owners came over. "Two glasses? I got you." I loved the owners of this place. Seemed like every time I was here they did something special for me.
The first time had been when I was sick and my sister brought me. I'd been four then and it seemed like another world. Crystal balls, posters of dragons, lifesized dolls, that now I had grown weren't so lifesize.
I think the owners understood being square pegs in this tiny round hole of a town. Nick hopped up on the stool beside me. "Are you sure it's okay?"
The stools had an epic spin. I grabbed the counter and pushed. Spinning, laughing, acting like a maniac. "Why wouldn't it be?" I said catching my breath.
Childish antics seem to heal the bruise on his ego. Nick's shoulders relaxed a little. As we drank I kept staring at the grill. The patties flipping, the scent of salt and grease made my mouth water. The cocoa disappeared all too soon.
There wasn't enough left to get a burger. "How much for just a hamburger patty?" I said glancing at the dark outside and then at Nick.
"How much you got?" The owner asked his eyes twinkling with mischief.
I searched my bag for every last penny.
He came over and glanced in my bag. "Let's just call it fifty cents today." With a wink, he went back to the grill and added another patty.
"Is there enough for me to get one too?" Nick asked, no longer embarrassed apparently. I guess the odor of deliciousness had gotten to his stomach too.
"Not with taxes," I debated on if I should apologize but I didn't expect the library to close, or wind up here with him and if he was hungry it wasn't my fault, so I didn't.
In a few seconds, a plate piled with chips and a hamburger patty with two pickles appeared. Nick immediately started stealing chips. If I'd known him better it might not have mattered. As it was I began to feel uncomfortable and threatened.
"You have the chips and pickles, I get the patty. Fair?" I needed to feel in control. I needed a boundary. My heart raced while I waited for his answer.
Nick glared at me his jaw clenched. He was annoyed. "Why don't we share it?"
"Because I'm hungry and it's my money." I didn't want to argue. I didn't want him to be annoyed. Memories of fists hitting me hard and fast raced through my brain. I waited for the pain to come.
Nick grabbed a handful of chips and chowed down. I ate the patty. As I finished Nick jumped off his stool and raced to the door. Was he ditching me because I didn't share the patty?
He was talking to some guys dressed in black. Nick bounced from foot to foot. Laughing and chittering away. I went to the counter to pay. The cash register was right by the door.
My change after the owner gave me a discount was a nickel just enough for five Swedish fish, my favorite. I grabbed the fish and smiling tossed back the nickel. The owner nodded to me and I turned.
Nick grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the swarm of bodies. I held my breath, kept my eyes lowered, afraid to show aggression. This could go bad fast.
I knew I could fight my way to behind the counter at least, but every instinct told me to head toward the exit right behind them. I glanced at their feet counting opponents. All male. Three of them plus Nick made four. I'd have to be fast. There were knives at the counter dull but easy to grab. A few jabs and a break for it. I could sprint to the gas station, get help.
Nick began introducing them. I shook hands nodding, mumbling, afraid to speak. I had no idea what their faces looked like.
When my hand got passed to the last of the three, he held on. I tried to pull it back. He didn't let go. The linoleum behind him was wet, from people tracking in snow, would it be wet enough to make him slip and fall into the other two if I pushed hard enough?
Then my mind went quiet.
"Look at me." Unsure if it was real or only in my head. I couldn't stop myself, I glanced up into eyes that made the ocean jealous of piercing turquoise depths. The world stopped. His face, the one from my dream and the shadows of night swirling behind him. This was a moment I'd been waiting for, aching for.
It didn't make sense, but I was safe.
Who was this person? Why did I feel connected to him? We'd never met.
"I'm Lee," He said his eyes peering more deeply into mine than anyone had ever peered.
"Ashley," I finally breathed.
Snow whispered through the streets, the cafe paused. Something had changed.
http://ashrienlives.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-best-bad-boy-chapter-one.html
Chapter Two
January 17, 2000
After school, I didn't want to go home. My stepdad would find something to criticize and fight about no matter what and I was afraid of being alone with him. The way he looked at me made my skin crawl. I hated going home these days.
Last night I'd been doing my homework when his yelling started. His asinine argument was screaming "I'm the adult" louder and louder with his face an inch from mine while his halitosis nearly suffocated me.
I guess somehow just being an adult makes someone right, though I never did understand what he was fighting with me about as he rubbed his chest against my breasts and separated my knees so he could move in closer.
The library wasn't far. I'd read nearly every book in my favorite genre but maybe there would be something new.
When I arrived, I smiled at Lori, my cousin, working behind the desk. I tried to get to know her over the years but she shied away from me. Family history, not exactly a feud, but close enough.
It seemed no matter what situation I was in, I was destined to be a lepper. After checking the fantasy section and finding no new McCaffrey or Lackey and no other books that peaked my interest I gave up.
Luckily the computers were free which was rare since the high-speed internet came to town. The library was quieter than usual. The musty smell and solitude were welcome friends.
In the midst of studying ancient religions for a class, a hand fell on my shoulder. I jumped spinning like a cat in midair.
Nick the only gay guy in a town of religious super hypocrites laughed at me. I jumped up happy to see him. Nick wasn't someone I knew well but he was as out of place in Mormonville as I was. "What are you doing back?" I squealed hugging him. I'd thought he'd gone to college or anywhere but here after graduating a year ago.
Nick liked me because I didn't care he was gay. I thought it kind of rocked. I had two uncles who were gay and they were the best in the world to hang out with! It'd been years since I saw them. Banished for being gay by a family that let a child molester babysit at every family gathering. Sometimes it felt like my family was part of the mob and completely insane.
"The real world didn't agree with me, so I'm back at my parents." Nick's eyes darted from side to side. Was it shame of being back home or something else?
He avoided looking me in the eyes so I didn't press him.
Lori approached, "The library is closing, soon, so if you two have any books you might want to check them out now."
"It's only six," I argued. It was payroll week and my mom wouldn't be back from her job for a few more hours and it was too cold outside to walk home from here and the bus had long since gone.
"It's Martin Luther King day," Lori persisted.
You'd think this would have come up at school, but in a town so whitewashed it was easy to forget black people existed, it hadn't. Another reason I wished I lived anywhere else.
Nick must have seen the panic in my eyes as I imagined freezing to death in the bitter cold. The sun was setting. "Want to come back to my place? My mom is there but she's cool."
I knew Nick from a few parties back when several friends still remained. Since they graduated and went on to better things, Chelle was all I had but now she had Cole and we didn't hang out as much.
Nick waited for my answer. I barely knew him. He was gay. Did that make him safe? I'd never gone home with a guy except one and he... I avoid thinking about it. His mom had been there too.
Nick's house or freeze to death? Nick's smiled at me backing away slightly as if he could feel the anxiety dripping off me.
"Yeah, that will be fun!" I grinned at him with forced enthusiasm.
As we walked the streets darkened, my nervousness grew. Main street was up ahead and an idea popped into my head. "Want to go to Marion's?" I asked Nick brightly.
"Uh, I don't have any money on me." His face turned red. He put his hands in his pockets and walked faster.
I stopped and checked my bag. A couple dollars, it wasn't much but maybe it could get us a hot drink to split and if I spent enough time checking out the displays, my mom could pick me up there.
"If you don't mind sharing I think I have enough for something." I waited. Nick shifted on his feet. "If nothing else I want to warm up. You coming?" I started walking. Taking charge wasn't feminine but since Nick was gay, did it matter? And by now my hands were burning from the cold.
Once inside I looked at the menu the prices were far more reasonable than the school cafeteria offered. I counted the change. Enough for one hot chocolate with a little left over.
The smell of hamburgers cooking made my stomach growl. Eating meat wasn't something I did often but suddenly I felt starved. Nick came in while I was ordering.
"One hot chocolate split into to two glasses," I said worried, "unless that's extra?"
One of the owners came over. "Two glasses? I got you." I loved the owners of this place. Seemed like every time I was here they did something special for me.
The first time had been when I was sick and my sister brought me. I'd been four then and it seemed like another world. Crystal balls, posters of dragons, lifesized dolls, that now I had grown weren't so lifesize.
I think the owners understood being square pegs in this tiny round hole of a town. Nick hopped up on the stool beside me. "Are you sure it's okay?"
The stools had an epic spin. I grabbed the counter and pushed. Spinning, laughing, acting like a maniac. "Why wouldn't it be?" I said catching my breath.
Childish antics seem to heal the bruise on his ego. Nick's shoulders relaxed a little. As we drank I kept staring at the grill. The patties flipping, the scent of salt and grease made my mouth water. The cocoa disappeared all too soon.
There wasn't enough left to get a burger. "How much for just a hamburger patty?" I said glancing at the dark outside and then at Nick.
"How much you got?" The owner asked his eyes twinkling with mischief.
I searched my bag for every last penny.
He came over and glanced in my bag. "Let's just call it fifty cents today." With a wink, he went back to the grill and added another patty.
"Is there enough for me to get one too?" Nick asked, no longer embarrassed apparently. I guess the odor of deliciousness had gotten to his stomach too.
"Not with taxes," I debated on if I should apologize but I didn't expect the library to close, or wind up here with him and if he was hungry it wasn't my fault, so I didn't.
In a few seconds, a plate piled with chips and a hamburger patty with two pickles appeared. Nick immediately started stealing chips. If I'd known him better it might not have mattered. As it was I began to feel uncomfortable and threatened.
"You have the chips and pickles, I get the patty. Fair?" I needed to feel in control. I needed a boundary. My heart raced while I waited for his answer.
Nick glared at me his jaw clenched. He was annoyed. "Why don't we share it?"
"Because I'm hungry and it's my money." I didn't want to argue. I didn't want him to be annoyed. Memories of fists hitting me hard and fast raced through my brain. I waited for the pain to come.
Nick grabbed a handful of chips and chowed down. I ate the patty. As I finished Nick jumped off his stool and raced to the door. Was he ditching me because I didn't share the patty?
He was talking to some guys dressed in black. Nick bounced from foot to foot. Laughing and chittering away. I went to the counter to pay. The cash register was right by the door.
My change after the owner gave me a discount was a nickel just enough for five Swedish fish, my favorite. I grabbed the fish and smiling tossed back the nickel. The owner nodded to me and I turned.
Nick grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the swarm of bodies. I held my breath, kept my eyes lowered, afraid to show aggression. This could go bad fast.
I knew I could fight my way to behind the counter at least, but every instinct told me to head toward the exit right behind them. I glanced at their feet counting opponents. All male. Three of them plus Nick made four. I'd have to be fast. There were knives at the counter dull but easy to grab. A few jabs and a break for it. I could sprint to the gas station, get help.
Nick began introducing them. I shook hands nodding, mumbling, afraid to speak. I had no idea what their faces looked like.
When my hand got passed to the last of the three, he held on. I tried to pull it back. He didn't let go. The linoleum behind him was wet, from people tracking in snow, would it be wet enough to make him slip and fall into the other two if I pushed hard enough?
Then my mind went quiet.
"Look at me." Unsure if it was real or only in my head. I couldn't stop myself, I glanced up into eyes that made the ocean jealous of piercing turquoise depths. The world stopped. His face, the one from my dream and the shadows of night swirling behind him. This was a moment I'd been waiting for, aching for.
It didn't make sense, but I was safe.
Who was this person? Why did I feel connected to him? We'd never met.
"I'm Lee," He said his eyes peering more deeply into mine than anyone had ever peered.
"Ashley," I finally breathed.
Snow whispered through the streets, the cafe paused. Something had changed.
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