A walk, alone with this girl? Was this even real? Surely he was dreaming. Not sure of his voice, Joe nodded. Christy tugged on his hand and propelled him forward. She led him around the house and to the beach. The moon was full and bright. It cast a wavering path across the water. When they reached the water’s edge, Christy let go of his hand and moved closer. She slipped her arms around his waist.

  Overwhelming sensations rocked Joe’s mind and body. He put his arms around her. She pressed every curve of her body against his. She was soft in all the right places. Her left hand reached for his chin, then she brought his mouth down to hers.

  The words, gum! Breath mint! Screamed through his mind. He should have thought of that, why hadn’t he thought of that? He probably tasted worse than Mr. Anderson’s farts smelled. If he did, Christy didn’t notice, or didn’t mind. Her tongue forced its way into his mouth. Her kiss was deep and hard. She seemed intent on eating him. He wrapped his fingers in her hair. It was so fine, like silk or spider webs. She took a single aching breath, then wrapped her tongue around his. God, no one had ever made him feel like this before. She was incredible. He lost all sense of time, of everything, but her. She pulled her lips away from his and said, “Let’s go inside.”

  “Why?”

  She didn’t answer. She took his hand and tugged on it. Reluctantly Joe followed her across the sand and into the house. The instant they were inside, she let go of his hand. She moved away from him as if he were a stranger. He felt suddenly cold. With out a word, she walked ahead of him. Unsure of what he was supposed to do, Joe followed. As he followed, he was vaguely aware of hard wood floors and expensive rugs. When they reached the huge kitchen, Christy stopped. On the counters were every kind of chip ad dip known to human kind. Sodas were in open ice chests on the tiled floor. A woman in her forties was at the sink. She turned. She was built like Christy. Her hair was expensive blonde. Her nails and make-up perfect. The smile she flashed at Joe was not real or warm. She asked, “Who is this?”

  “This is Joe Aaron, star, uh what position do you play?”

  Cheerleaders were so dumb about football. Better keep it simple. “I am a running back.”

  “Yeah, he catches the ball and runs. Mom you should see him run.” Christy reached for Joe’s hand and squeezed it.

  Mrs. Thorton’s eyes narrowed. Joe could feel her disapproval.

  Christy asked him, “Want something?”

  The only thing he wanted was to get out of the kitchen. He shook his head.

  Christy snuggled up against him.

  Mrs. Thorton cleared her throat.

  The look Christy gave her mother, was hard and angry. When she turned her eyes back to Joe, the anger was gone but there was something dark, so dark reflected in her eyes. She pulled him out of the kitchen and into the game room.

  Darryl sat on a brown leather sofa, desperately trying to put the moves on Jade Waters. The chick was not interested. Either Darryl didn’t notice, or he was pretending not to. Several guys sat in front of a huge TV. Joe had only seen screens that big at Best Buy. Blood and gore splashed across the screen as two players hacked at each other with swords and axes. Joe looked away. Mama didn’t like in video games. He pushed the thought of Mama out of his mind.

  In a shadowed corner near an open window was a chaise lounge. Christy slid onto it and patted the space beside her. Joe glanced at the kitchen, certain Mrs. Thorton would not like it. “Come on Joe.”

  Against his better judgement he slipped down beside her. She was instantly on top of him. Oh, God. Her mother would kill him. Christy kissed him, and thoughts of Mrs. Thorton were instantly forgotten. She swiveled her hips over his and whispered, “Want to go upstairs?”

  “What about your mom?”

  “She won’t notice, she’s too busy making sure nothing gets dirty or broken. This way.” Christy took his hand and climbed out the window. She led him up a spiral staircase to the balcony. The moon was higher in the sky now.

  Double glass doors opened into a large bedroom. Huge mirrors lined one wall reflecting the moonlight. Joe could see his silhouette and Christy’s, he watched as they merged as one at the threshold. He closed his eyes as she kissed him. The urgency of her kisses made breathing difficult. Her hands touched parts of him, no girl had ever touched before. He felt the rise of his manhood and was unsure. Christy seemed to purr. Slowly, without a single break in kisses or caresses she maneuvered him onto the bed. The silk bedspread was cold against his skin. For one brief second he opened his eyes. He saw a picture on the bedside table. His eyes closed then sudden realization struck him. His eyes flew open. In the white moonlight he could clearly see the picture.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Christy noticed she had lost his attention. She pulled away from him and asked, “What?”

  He pointed at the picture and asked, “Who is that?”

  “My dad.”

  Stupid. So stupid. How in the hell had this happened and why hadn’t he ever put it together before?

  “Joe, what’s wrong?”

  “Your boss is my dad.”

  “What? I thought you didn’t have a dad.”

  What an dumb ass thing to say! More slowly this time, he said, “I mean, your dad owns the store where I work. He’s my boss.”

  “So? He’s a lot of people’s boss.” Her long fingers reached for his head and she pulled his mouth back onto hers. Her fingers moved from his head to his neck. His hands ran the length of her back. He could feel the hook of her bra. If only he knew how to undo it.

  For a brief second Christy’s lips left his. She panted, “Want to fuck?” She didn’t wait for his answer. She tugged at his shirt. He raised himself slightly so she could pull it off of him. Her mouth came down hard and wet on his bare chest. Shivers burned through him. She ran her left hand down the length of his thigh. She looked up at him and said, “No body has legs like yours.”

  No body? Reginald’s smiling face exploded in Joe’s mind. His conscience screamed, Reginald had legs like mine. Reginald had nights like tonight. Nights where babies were made and forgotten. Babies like me. Me. He felt Christy’s fingers unbutton his pants. He heard the zipper as it went down. He looked up at her. Unbidden he saw his Mama’s face, not her current face, but the one she had when she was a girl. The big room seemed to shrink and the weight of Christy’s body suddenly became unbearable. What the hell was wrong with him? He was so close. Seconds away. Angrily he told himself, Focus. But he couldn’t.

  Christy looked up at him and asked, “What’s wrong?” Before he could answer she said, “It’s okay. You are just nervous. Most people are the first time.” Her mouth came back down on his.

  The doorknob rattled. Joe nearly jumped through himself. Mrs. Thorton asked, “Christy, what are you doing in my room with the door locked?”

  What? He was on Mr. Thorton’s bed about to do his daughter. Oh, God. Joe jerked away from her. Christy pressed her finger to her lips then said, “Nothing Mom.”

  “Who’s in there with you?”

  “Nobody.”

  “Open this door this instant.” Christy slid off the bed, straightened the spread and motioned for Joe to go out the balcony door.

  The instant he shut the door, he broke into a cold sweat. He leaned over and tried to breath, but couldn’t. God, what had just happened? He heard the bedroom door open. Mrs. Thorton asked, “Christy, you better not be in there with that nig- um, I mean football player.”

  Joe remained rooted, afraid, not moving or breathing.

  Christy said, “See Mom, there is no one here. You really should trust me.”

  Bitterly Mrs. Thorton laughed.

  Joe heard the door close. He peeked inside. They were gone. His pants were still open and his stupid shirt was on the bedroom floor. After redoing his pants, he noiselessly walked back into the room. As he picked up his shirt, Mr. Thorton’s portrait glared at him. Joe wasted no time getting out of that room and down the spiral staircase.

  At the bottom he tripped over Darryl. He fell forward and then caught himself on the porch rail.

  “Man watch where you are going.” Darryl looked up and recognized Joe. A huge smile split his face. He asked, “So how was it?”

  “Nothing happened, her mom interrupted.”

  “Damn, I was hoping at least to hear about some action. Since I didn’t get no action. Jade Waters is a milk Popsicle. She wouldn’t know fun if it bit her on the ass. Which is what I was hoping to do.” Darryl stood.

  Joe felt dizzy and sick. All he wanted was to get home. “Can we leave?”

  “I thought you would never ask. How bout going to the JC’s for some pool?”

  “What time is it?”

  “Not passed your freakin’ curfew, if that’s what your worried about.”

  “Okay.”

  They headed for the car. Purple Bomb was a welcome sight. Just sitting on the lumpy seat, calmed Joe. His breathing and heart rate became steady. Darryl prayed, Purple Bomb spewed them with mariachi music and roared to life.