The Con (4 page)

Just as I start to get into it, my sister
comes out of our trailer dressed for her shift at the diner. Her
natural beauty shines in the sunlight and I'm jealous at how
effortless she seems to make everything look.

"I'll be home late tonight, Ronnie. After
work I have class until eleven." She comes up behind me and flicks
a strand of my long red hair. The two of us could not be more
opposite if we tried. "Aren't you hot with this mop hanging over
your shoulders? You should pull you hair up."

Pearl walks past me down the steps and hops
in her old black Honda that gets her wherever she needs to go–for
now. It's only a matter of time until it breaks down on her for
good.

My sister is gorgeous. Long brown hair,
brown eyes, and tanned skin. She's of mixed ethnicity and it gives
her a striking look. She's the perfect height and the perfect
shape. It's hard to believe we're even sisters.

Pearl rolls down the manual window of her
car. "Have fun with Judy Blume. Stay out of trouble and don't hang
around with any kids on the block." She peels out of the driveway,
smoke coming from the back pipe of her car and then she's gone.

No real rules or advice. I'm on my own. The
only thing she ever tells me is not to hang out with the kids in
the trailer park. It's like she's afraid they'll rub off on me or
something.

She doesn't have to worry because most of
the kids don't give me the time of day anyway.

A half hour later I'm immersed in my book
when a shadow falls over me. I look up and see a boy from my school
standing over my body. At least he used to go to my school, but now
he goes to the local high school. He's decent looking in a white
undershirt and jean shorts. His skin is tanned from the sun,
including his scalp, which is shaved bald. He's looking at me
mischievously with his dark brown eyes.

I think his name starts with a D, but I'm
not sure.

"What are you reading, Ronnie?"

How does he know my name?

I fold the corner of the page I'm on and
close my book before setting it down beside me and tucking my long
hair behind my ears.

"Just a book." Judy Blume books have a
reputation so I don't want him to figure out why I like reading
it.

He kicks the bottom step below me with his
camel-colored work boots while looking up at the sky. His eyes then
trail back down and focus on me. "Aren't you hot out here?"

"I'm okay," I respond, just as sweat
trickles behind my ear. My sister was right about my hair. I should
have put it up.

"Well, if you get too hot you could come
hang out with me. A bunch of us are just chilling the rest of the
afternoon and the trailer has AC."

I don't know him at all, but the thought of
air conditioning right now is too enticing to pass up. I can blame
the stupid decision on my age and always being left alone.

All of the predator warnings I learned in
school flash through my head. I feel like a kid being lured away by
a stranger with candy, but in Arizona air conditioning is a much
better offer than sugar.

"Who will all be there?" I ask, standing up
from my spot on the step.

"Not sure yet. Probably Angelo and Lola.
Jagger, because it's his trailer, maybe Leah and a couple of her
friends, and Ky because he's always with Jagger."

He wants me to come with him to Jagger's
trailer. The thought of seeing Jagger has my pulse racing with
excitement. If any part of me was apprehensive before, it's not
anymore. I grab my empty glass and book and walk into my trailer
without saying a word to him, placing the items on the counter
before returning back outside. I don't lock up because there's not
much inside to really steal.

"I'll come."

"Great," he says, smiling. "I'm Dougy, by
the way."

As we walk down my street and over to
Jagger's street I ask, "Why are you being so nice to me?"

He hesitates for a second before answering.
"You never hang out with anyone and we all kind of figured you like
it that way. I saw you today, by yourself, and thought I'd just go
for it and ask."

They all kind of figured... who's they
all?

"Oh, well... thanks for inviting me. It's
not that I never want to hang out with anyone, it's just that no
one has ever really asked me to hang out before and I'm not home a
lot."

"Because you're at that dance place."

"Right." I nod my head, still shocked that
he knows anything about me.

We approach Jagger's doublewide and I follow
Dougy up the porch and then we walk right in. I'm immediately hit
with the cool air and my skin tingles as little bumps cover my
skin. It's heaven.

The front room is a large living area with
two worn sofas and a coffee table. Walls with doors surround the
room and the kitchen is to my immediate right. There are kids
taking up most of the seats in the living room and a few sitting on
the checkered carpet. The only person I recognize is Lola, but when
she sees Dougy and I walk in she rolls her eyes. Speaking loud
enough for me to hear she asks, "Who invited RBI?"

Her words ring in my ears and I'm suddenly
aware of how much I don't belong here. I don't fit it.

I'm just about to bolt when Jagger walks
into the room from the kitchen. His eyes meet mine and grow wide
with surprise before he asks the same question Lola asked, but a
lot nicer. "Who invited twinkle toes?"

Walking over to where Dougy and I are
standing, Jagger looks me over and I look down shyly at my bare
feet.

"I found her on my way over here. She was
bored so I thought she could hang with us." I look up at Dougy just
as he suggestively wiggles his eyebrows at Jagger.

"She's too young, man. She can't play with
us," Jagger responds. Then he directs his next words to me. "It's
nothing against you, twinkle toes. You're cool, but this... party
is a little advanced for you. If you were a couple years older it
would be different."

I step forward defiantly. "I'm not too
young."

Smirking he raises his hands in defeat and
responds, "Okay, twinkle toes. It’s your reputation at stake."

It's then that I see exactly what Jagger was
trying to warn me about. Behind him is a girl, who can't be much
older than me. She grips an empty beer bottle and places it on its
side on top of a piece of cardboard. Her wrist twists and then the
bottle spins before landing on a boy two seats away from her.

The boy, with dark brown hair and tan skin,
stands up. The girl gets up as well and then he grabs her hand and
they both go off behind one of the doors to my left.

"What are they playing?" I ask innocently
but already know the answer.

"Seven minutes in heaven," Jagger answers
me. "That was my boy, Jose, and the girl is Leah. When they're
finished in the room it's someone else's turn."

Dougy steps up behind me and leans in.
"Don't worry, RBI, I'll be gentle."

I gulp, not sure I want to play this game
with them and wishing I would have listened to Jagger when I had
the chance. If I leave now I'll look like a wuss.

"Cut it out, Thirty-D," Jagger shouts before
hitting Dougy on the side of the head. "Don't scare the girl."

Jagger looks down at me sweetly. His once
long brown hair is shorter now, but he's still able to tuck it
behind his ears. "You don't have to play, twinkle toes. You can
just watch if you want."

I look up into his reassuring eyes. "I'll
play."

"Awesome," Dougy says from beside me and
then he grabs my hand and walks us over to the circle that is
formed on the carpet. The other kids move to give us room, but
they're all staring at me like I have a third eye or something.
Jagger comes over now, too, and takes a seat next to Lola in the
circle. Dougy is on my right and a boy I've never met before is on
my left, but I’ve seen him around with Jagger.

"Hey, I'm Ky," he says, introducing himself
and reaching out his hand. I take it in a friendly handshake.

"I'm Ronnie."

"Ronnie... huh." He looks over at Jagger
curiously, but Jagger's in a hushed conversation with Lola. Their
heads are crouched together and the moment looks intimate. As I
watch the two of them interact I'm filled with jealousy. Lola talks
and flirts with him so easily. I don't know how to be that natural
around him.

The door behind me eventually opens and out
walks Jose and Leah. Her face is flushed and her clothing is
rumpled, while Jose has a dirty grin plastered across his face.

"Who's next?" Dougy asks eagerly while
peeking over at me.

"It's Ace's turn," Ky says from the other
side of me and when I look over at Ky he's glaring at Dougy. I
thought they were all friends but by the way Ky is looking at
Dougy, there must be something else going on.

Jagger kneels over the cardboard and places
his hand on the bottle before giving it a good spin. Lola sits up
eagerly with anticipation as the bottle spins over and over
again.

Part of me wants it, needs it, to land on
me. Another part of me is terrified at the possibility. I'm
terrified to be alone with Jagger for seven minutes. I know he's
experienced and I'm not.

The bottle slows down and then suddenly
stops with the open neck pointing directly at me.

Despite the air conditioning my body starts
to slowly overheat. Jagger doesn't miss a beat as he stands up and
walks to my part of the circle. He reaches out his hand and I take
it, slowly getting up from the carpet and following him out of the
room and behind the door that Jose and Leah were in just a few
minutes before.

I can hear Ky and a couple of the other boys
cheering and whistling us on.

Jagger shuts the door and I look around the
room. The walls are navy blue and covered with posters of half
naked women. Some are on muscle cars; others are posed
provocatively and covered with soap and water. Most of them have
fake boobs and big butts. There's a full-size bed that takes up a
large part of the room. He has no books, but there is a CD player
playing Death Cab for Cutie's I will follow you into the Dark, and
a stack of compact discs sit next to it. I walk over and grab the
first CD on top of the stack–The Who. I grab the next one and it's
Metallica, followed by Jimmy Hendrix, then The Rolling Stones.

"Are you done touching my shit?"

I'm startled and quickly place the CDs down
before turning around to face him. "Sorry."

Jagger walks over to his bed and then sits
down on top of the black comforter. I watch his every move but I
don't say anything. I stay completely still. I’m not sure what he's
expecting from me during the next seven minutes.

He must be good at reading people because he
says, "Come sit down, twinkle toes. We're just going to talk. I'm
not going to defile you."

I trust him so I walk over to the bed and
sit down next to him, tucking my bare feet under my butt.

"What do you want to talk about?" I ask
nervously.

"I don't know." He taps his hands against
his thighs, drumming out a beat to go with the music. He's wearing
jeans and a black t-shirt, and on his feet are black boots. I
realize his wardrobe is filled with a lot of the same colors, and
I've only ever seen boots on his feet. "How's dance going?"

"Good," I respond, wishing I had a longer
answer to fill the unease in the room.

"Why aren't you there now?"

"The studio is closed for the week."

We both go silent again, neither of us
knowing what to talk about. I realize that's probably because we
have very little in common.

"Your house is nice."

He turns on the bed to face me so I do the
same. My legs are still tucked underneath me but Jagger has one leg
on the bed and his other leg hangs down the side, his foot touching
the floor.

"It's a run-down piece of shit, twinkle
toes, but it's all I can afford right now."

All he can afford? He's only fourteen. He
can't be paying for this place by himself.

"Well, it's a lot nicer than mine and you
have air conditioning. I'd do anything for AC."

"Anything?" he asks, raising his right
eyebrow.

I bite my lip to stop my cheeks from
flushing with embarrassment. “You know what I mean."

We go quiet again but this time the air is
filled with something... different. Something I've never
experienced before. There's some form of electricity trying to
bring the two of us together.

Jagger leans in close to me and I stop
breathing as I focus on the way his body moves. I watch his lips as
he takes in staggered breaths.

"Have you ever been kissed, twinkle
toes?"

I let out a shaky breath. "No."

Jagger's palms graze my bare knees before
placing his hands on each side of the bed so my thighs are trapped
between them.

He leans in closer. "Do you want that to
change? Do you want me to kiss you?"

I can't speak. I can barely move, as the
very thing I've dreamt about these past three years is finally
about to come true. Jagger is asking me if I want him to kiss me.
Somehow in my state of shock, as my blood begins to boil from
anticipation and his lips proximity to mine, I'm able to nod my
head yes.

He hovers above me as I look up into his
eyes. His lips are just inches from mine. A million thoughts are
racing through my head and I can’t seem to think straight. I want
to remember every second of what's about to happen, but instead,
just as his lips are about to brush against mine, I whisper, "Why
did Ky call you Ace?"

He grins down at me, his gaze flickering to
my lips before he looks back up into my green eyes. "Because I'm
good at everything."

I don't have time to process his answer. My
eyes flutter closed as his lips connect with mine. I don't move and
my lips stay firmly shut as he kisses me. I feel hot... everywhere.
My face is flushed, my lips are tingling and I don't want this kiss
to end.