After the Before (14 page)

“Wait, Andrew. I can’t do this.” I give him a little shove.

He’s way to
o into it. He’s moaning and running his fingers all over my private area.

I push harder. “Andrew.” My voice is more urgent. “Get off!

This time I know he hears me, because he looks right at me. “You want this.” He says, and starts kissing my neck.

“No, Andrew. I don’t.” I continue to push at him, but it gets me nowhere. He’s much stronger than I am.

He grabs my arms and pins them above my head, “You want to get rough?” He asks. “We can do that.”

He’s strong enough to hold both wrists with one hand, and lets the other roam over my still exposed breasts. My swim top is missing, stripped f
rom me completely somehow.

“Andrew! I said, stop!”

When his hearing fails him again, instinct kicks in and I knee him in the balls. He groans deeply and rolls to his side. I scramble back, grab my shirt, and pull it over my head.

“Jesus, Jasmine! I was only messing with you. I thought you were playing around.”
How could I have done this? I have officially become a tease.

“
What was it about the word ‘
NO’
that you didn’t understand!”

I take a moment to look for my
swim top, but my vision is starting to blur. I already have a shirt, so I start to leave, but the hotel is not where I want to go… I’ll continue this party on my own.

“Come on, Jasmine. Don’t be mad.” He’s still holding
his crotch.

“Fuck off, Andrew
… just give me your flask.” Surprisingly, he does as I say.

“I’m sorry, Jasmine. Please don’t tell anyone.”

I glare at him for a moment before I say, “Oh, come on, Andrew. I know the alcohol was to loosen me up, and I shouldn’t have let it get as far as it did. I just wanted to make out, something I’ve never experienced, so I take full blame for my part, but you… you knew what you were doing. You had every intention of having sex with me, and getting me drunk would make it easier for you.” I’ve said my peace, so I begin stumbling away and down the beach.

“Jasmine, you shouldn’t be wondering around drunk!” Andrew calls to me when he can finally stand.

“Kiss my ass, Andrew!” I yell back and laugh as hard as I can, taking another pull from my new best friend.

Andrew shows
me his true colors when he doesn’t pursue, or call after me again. My heart constricts; a part of me is disappointed, wishing he cared enough to come after me.

I stumble my way down the beach. I lost my left flip flop somewhere between the hotel and my current location. Annoyed with
having only one, I kick the other off to the side, while making some sort of kung fu noise, “Heee-yaaa.” That’s another good thing about Hawaii, you never have to wear shoes. In fact, it should be illegal.

I laugh at myself and take another swig. I have no idea how much I’ve had to drink on an almost empty stomach, but I’m feeling great, light and happy, and definitely free. I walk back and forth from the sand to the warm ocean water
; the spray kicking up in my face when it laps against my shins.

I begin to sing to myself out loud. The song
is a little demented, I have to admit, but Jace and I used to sing the Freddy Kruger song when we were little during hide and seek. It was our way of trying to spook the other one out. We loved scary movies.

“One, Two, I’m coming for you.” I echo in a scary voice. We took out Freddy’s name for convenience.

“Three, four, you better lock your door.” My voice changes to an upbeat kid’s song and I start to skip. “I’m coming for you, Jace.” I’m gonna play imaginary tag with my brother one last time.

“Five, six, grab your crucifix.” I’m laughing and can actually feel him closer to me than I have in a long time.

“Seven, eight, you better stay up late!” I twirl down the beach splashing in the water, soaking my clothes.

“Ready or not, here I come! Nine, ten, you’ll never sleep again
… because I’ll pour cold water over you while you sleep.” I say really fast. I laugh so hard that I double over, remembering the time I dumped cold water on Jace while he slept. We used to give a reason after the song of why you would never sleep again, always being a silly prank we would pull on each other.

Jace had said one time, “Nine, ten, you’ll never sleep again
… because I’m going to draw on your face.” He did, and with a permanent marker, writing the word
loser
on the side of my temple. Luckily, I was able to get it off before school started a couple of days later.

“Come out
, come out, wherever you are, Jace!” I yell as loud as I can.

I’m dancing around to
the music that’s playing in my mind, but then I realize that it’s actual music coming from a group of people a few yards down from me.

I could
care less. For once in the last two years, I feel free. I want to sing, dance, talk to myself… I want to live again, even if it’s just tonight.

I hear a voice close to me ask,
“Hey, baby. Out for a stroll?” He circles me as I stop, looking me up and down. When I stay silent, he takes that as his cue to continue. “You could get hurt out here drunk and all alone.” He trails a finger down my arm.

I stare at his hand as he drops it back to his side. “
It’s alright, because I’m free tonight.” I tell him, as if that makes perfect sense. I take a drink from the flask while I watch this newcomer, wondering why he looks familiar.

He stares at me. Well, not at me, but at my soaking wet shirt. I’m grateful it’s dark
, ‘cause otherwise, my shirt would be completely see through, nips out and all.

“
Yes. You. Are.
You want to party tonight?” He asks.

I look him
up and down. He’s not who I want, so I say, “No. I have my own party.” I hold out the almost empty flask and shake it around, sloshing some of the liquid out.

“Are you sure?” He steps into me
, attempting to wrap his arms around my waist.

I have had it with guys trying to get their dirty hands on me tonight. “I’m sure
, so get your hands off of me.” I try to sidestep him, but he blocks my path.

His face changes from polite to irritated. “A fine ass Mamacita like you should be taken care of.” He acts as if those sincere words should seal the deal for him.

I look at him as if he’s stupid, which only pisses him off more. I don’t know when to quit, so I tell him, “Chingar tu Madre.” Go fuck your mother. Yes, I know some pretty raunchy stuff in Spanish, just not enough to hold a civilized conversation; thank you Alex for that one.

He’s extremely pissed off by my words
… I think I see steam coming out of his ears. I laugh at the expression on his face, which resembles someone eating volcanic peppers. “That was the wrong thing to say, puta.” He steps up to me like I’m a man and he’s about to knock the living daylights out of me.

“Whatever.” I fling my hand up, flicking him in the face with my fingers as I walk past, closer to the rest of his group. Tonight I’m not afraid of anything
; Liquid courage, I think they call it.

“Get back here.” He grabs my arm
and jerks me so hard, I feel it all the way through my torso, and I cry out in pain. “You think that hurts? You wait…” He’s in the process of pulling me closer to him, when out of nowhere, someone flies in front of me and knocks him to the ground, fists flying.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Alex

My attention shifts from Angeline, who is still debating on staying or leaving, to the open ocean. I swear I heard Jasmines voice, calling and playing tag with Jace.
He used to tell me about their games of tag, my sister and me even participating in a few of them. Those two took the childhood game to a whole new level. A smile stretches across my lips thinking about her and the fun we all used to have.

“What are you smiling about?
You think this is funny?” Angeline’s voice is thick with jealousy.

“I told you what
this was, and what it wasn’t; don’t get mad at me because you want to change the rules of the game.” I look her straight in the eye.

I can see the storm of emotions building in them. I am so not in the mood to deal with this mierda. “Why are you…” That’s where I stop listening.

Instead, I watch as a small form begins to emerge from the darkness along the shoreline. From where I’m sitting, I can’t make out who it is, just that the figure has a females curves. Mario heads in her direction, fading out to just an outline of a shadow when he reaches her.

She walks a few more steps before Mario blocks her way. He’s one of the pendejos I hate drinking with
because he’s always getting out of hand, especially with the ladies. Angeline’s voice is a distant rambling in the background of my thoughts. Mario is still blocking the female’s way, stepping into her. I can tell she’s rejecting his advances, trying to walk around him, but only gaining a few feet each time she attempts to move. She’s tipping her head back, drinking something… a cerveza, maybe?

I watch as she flicks Mario in the face as she walks past him, trying to continue to where
ver it is she’s heading. Standing, I push past Angeline, and I hear her say “Where do you think you’re going? I’m talking to you.”

I just i
gnore her and move forward. I’m not sure what the sudden urge is to get to this girl, but she’s pulling me to her like a magnet. It’s probably because Mario is getting out of hand, and after she flicked him in the face, I’m afraid of what he might do.

I’m
almost close enough to make her out; the shape of her body is familiar. My imagination is daring to play an evil trick on me. I’m not about to get my hopes up, thinking it’s who I want it to be. Why would she be out here?

When she’s close enough and the fire light illuminates her face, I see my angel. My breath leaves my body at the sight of her.
I catch only a brief glimpse of her face before Mario grabs her arm and yanks her toward him, causing her to yelp out in pain.

Instantly, I snap. Blood rushes through my body as anger fuels my veins. I take off toward them at full speed
, not even slowing when I collide with Mario and begin to slam my fist into him repeatedly. Jasmine is motionless, stunned by what’s happening. I continue to slam my fist into any part of Mario’s face and body that I can get a good hit on. I’m cursing at him in Spanish, telling him that I warned them all once before, not to mess with her. This time, they’d see the consequences and repercussions of ignoring me.

By the time Carlos yells my name and pulls me off, Mario is a bloody pulp, but he’s still moving. I don’t like that he’s moving. How dare he touch
my
girl like that.

I’m still angry, so I turn on her, staring her down. “What the hell are you doing out here by yourself
, Jasmine?”

“I want
ed to be free.” She squeaks out, her words slurring. I can tell she’s had too much to drink. “Jace told me to.” She unconsciously rubs her pendant while blaming her brother; causing me to wonder if the voice playing tag in the wind was just my imagination.

My attention returns to Mario. We are far from finished. “Levántate!” I order him to stand up. Standing will hurt like hell, but he has no choice. The puto d
eserves it, not just because of Jasmine, but because he should never touch a female in that manner.

He refuses to look me in the eyes,
scared as hell. “Jefe.” He concedes when he tries to stand fully erect; fresh blood still dripping from his beaten face.

“What did I tell you
, and everyone else, about fucking with her?”

“I didn’t know it was your novia, jefe.” His excuse is weak and he knows it.

“Does it matter?” I ignore the fact that he calls her my girlfriend, even if I like the sound of it. “You never treat a mujer like that; you never put your hands on them.” I’m standing over him, staring him down. He’s watching his feet, shoulders hunched. “Get him cleaned up.” I tell the others. “Carlos, make sure shit stays straight while I talk to Jasmine.”

“Got it, Alex.” He says
as he organizes a group to get Mario back to the hotel. He’s definitely going be hurting for a while.

Turning back to Jasmine, I find she’s moved next to the fire. The clothes she’s wearing are not her usual
style. She normally dresses in clothes that cover all of her perky parts, leaving her body an enigma. Tonight though… tonight, she’s wearing shorts that are way above the schools dress code, a tight shirt that at least covers her decently, and no shoes. However, her shirt
is
soaking wet,
and
see through. If you stare hard enough, you can make out the shape of her breasts… not that I’m looking or anything. The words, ‘
Aloha, Bitches!’
are written in colorful letters across her chest; the only reason the bare image underneath stays concealed.

I’m about to reach out and touch Jasmine when Angeline steps in front of me. I’d forgotten she was even here
, and by the look on her face, she knows exactly that.

“Are you going to finish talking to me?” She asks, as if
I owe it to her.

“No.” I tell her simply. I’m done with her drama. I want to be with Jasmine
, and make sure she’s alright.

“No? NO!” She yells. Man, I’m glad this chick is not my girl. She would drive me crazy.

“That’s what he said.” Jasmine turns around and starts defending me. Her tough bravado makes me smile. She’s cute, completely plastered, and probably couldn’t beat up a fly, let alone another person.

“Who the fuck are you?” Angeline gets the ghetto stances and gestures going for the makings of a chick fight.

“Come on, now.” I try to step between them, but Jasmine pushes me off to the side with surprising force. I stumble out of the way, caught off balance.

“I’ll take care of this, Alex.” Jasmine steps up to Angeline like a chula in a gang. “I’m Jasmine. And you are…?” She leaves the sentence hanging.

Angeline’s expression is shocked when she hears Jasmines name… the name I called her only shortly before when we were getting hot and heavy.

She
turns to me. “This is who you called me?” She laughs, pissing me off all over again. She doesn’t see it, but she is nothing compared to Jasmine. She turns back to Jasmine. “I’m Angeline. The girl your novio has been hooking up with the last couple of days.”

Jasmine maintains her cool, but I can see the words
hurt her. Not hesitating to correct her, she says, “He’s not my boyfriend. He can do as he pleases.” The expression on her face informs me she wishes the words weren’t true. The thought of me with other girls is messing with her, and I see it written all over her face.

Angeline steps into Jasmine
, so I try one more time to break them up. Jasmine’s not listening, and Angeline tells me to butt out. Before I can come up with a plan to separate the two, Jasmine shocks me, and everyone else by her next move.

S
he asks, “Hey, Angeline. What did the five fingers say to the face?” I can see Angeline puzzling it out, caught off guard by such a question. Jasmine gives her only a second before she answers for her, “SLAP!” She yells out as she slaps the bejesus out of Angeline, hard enough to snap her head sideways.

I cover the laugh that’s attempting to burst through my lips
, ready to step in between Jasmine and Angeline, just in time to prevent Jasmine from having her eyes gouged out by Angeline’s cougar claws. Carlos is laughing hysterically as he pulls Angeline away from us. Some of her girlfriends, including the one Carlos was getting with earlier, are yelling at him to let her go.

“Get out of here.” He tells them when he lets her go.

“Kiss my ass, Carlos. You too, Alex.” Angeline says, getting her friends together. Before she leaves, she turns to Jasmine. “You better hope we don’t see you out by yourself somewhere.”

“Whatever.” Jasmine says and turns back to the fire, as if she could care less that Angeline could attack her while her back is turned.

Carlos and two others are the only ones remaining after the girls, and half the gang, leave. They’re sitting around the fire laughing and congratulating Jasmine on the nice slap. The smile on her face tells me she’s proud of herself.

“Thanks.” She says to Carlos after he compliment
s her. “I stole the joke from Rick James. He said it on a TV show I watched.”

She turns as I walk up next to her,
and her face drops, as if she’s just remembered I was here. She looks like she’s excited to see me, but shouldn’t be. I know the look well, because it’s currently mirrored on my face.

“Hey.” I sit on a stump close to her, our arms brushing, but she remains where she sits
; welcoming the proximity.

“Hi.” She says shyly, as if we haven’t known each other for
most of our lives.

Everyone is bullshitting about what a blast Hawaii’s been
so far, and what we should go check out next, when Carlos hands Jasmine the blunt that’s being passed around.

I grab it before she can. “I don’t think this is such a good idea for you.” I tell her.

Her eyes grow dark, like a stormy sea. “You’re not my father. You’re not allowed tell me what to do.” She is one determined mamacita tonight.

She takes the blunt from me and takes a few long
, even drags, blowing smoke out of her nose like a professional, then chasing it with whatever she’s drinking out of her flask.

A few minutes later, she stands up, but says nothing. The conversation drops to see what she’s doing. She’s looking toward the water. She couldn’t possibly see it, the night camouflaging its waves, but she’s watching it with such intensity
that I think I’m missing something.

“I’m going down to the water.” She announces
, and walks away from the fire.

The rest of us sit on our stumps watching her walk away. Carlos’s voice makes me jump when he speaks. “You going to go with her, Alex?” He wiggles his eyebrows
.

“She’s wasted Carlos. I’m not into doing wasted chicks.” He shrugs and smiles as I get up to follow her. She’s a few feet ahead of me, so I call out to her. “Jasmine, wait up.”

She pauses, waiting for me. When I catch up to her, she falls back into step. She holds the flask up to me and asks, “Want some?”

I take it from her. “What is it?” I sniff the spout.

She shrugs. “Don’t know, its Andrew’s.” She smiles, as if she’s holding a secret.

“Does Andrew know you have this?”

“Yeah, he gave it to me after I kicked his ass.” She begins to giggle hysterically. “I think I’m going to pee my pants.” She manages to say between fits.

I smile at her. Why would Jasmine kick
Andrew’s ass, or think that she kicked his ass. The question refuses to remain quiet.

“How was your date with the great and wonderful Andrew?” I hate myself for asking the question. Hopefully, Jasmine will not remember any of this tomorrow.

She makes a face, “He was too handsy for my taste, so I taught him a lesson.”

Her feet hit the ocean and the water sprays up her shins. The smile playing on her lips stretches wider as she tilts her head back and closes her eyes
.

My focus is no longer on the water. “What do you mean he was
too
handsy for you? Did he make you do something you didn’t want to?” Panic floods my body. Is that why she’s so drunk? Has he done something to her?

‘
I’ll kill him if he touched her.’

“No, not really.” She’s digging her toes in the sand, looking up at the stars in the sky. I can tell by the tone of her voice that she’s not being completely honest.

The not knowing is driving me crazy… I need to protect her, or it might already be too late. I step in her line of sight, blocking out the sky. I put my hands on her shoulders and ask softly, “Jasmine, tell me what happened.”

Her stare holds mine for a long time before she speaks. The
color of her eyes are so close to the color of the ocean. When she finally speaks, her voice is small, scared, and with a hint of desperation.

She recounts
for me the night’s events with Andrew, the liquor, and as much as I can’t stand to hear about her with another guy, I listen. The more I listen, the more I feel like I am capable of murder. I want to find Andrew right now and strangle him with my bare hands.

When she finishes recapping the night, my hands are in fists at my sides, my knuckles no doubt turning white. I’m barely able to stay where I am and not hunt him down
to rip his balls out through his throat.