chapter 2

A/N: There is a bit of underage drinking in this part which I do not condone, but I thought you all should be aware of it.



     The next day at work, I was busy.  Saturdays were usually the most hectic in the store.  Somehow I always managed to squeeze in a lunch break anyway.  I usually ate lunch in the food court of the mall.  On this day, I chose pizza.  I got my two slices and a coke and sat in the very back of the place.  I was watching the people pass by the front windows when I heard a voice above me.  I looked up and nearly screamed.  Instead, I let out a little gasp.

     He stood looking down at me, his mouth curved up in that same half-smile from the night before.  There was also a sparkle in his eyes as he repeated, “Is this seat taken?” and pointed to the chair across from me.

     I shook my head to tell him it was okay to take it.

     He sat down with his plate and drink.  “My name’s Jonathan.”

     “Alexandria,” I replied.

     “Alexandria what?”

     “Alexandria McCain.”

     “That’s a pretty name, but somehow I think Alex fits you better.”

     I had managed to finish my last piece of pizza and stood up to leave.  “Nice meeting you Jonathan, but I have to get back to work.”

     I forced myself not to break into a run.  I felt completely embarrassed because he had spoken to me and I had almost completely fallen apart in front of him.  Popular girls like me weren’t supposed to associate with street guys like him.

     I went back to work letting it take my mind off of him.  I was standing behind the counter writing down the things we had sold so far when a hand covered the paper.  I knew who it was without looking up, but I did anyway.  He was smiling this time, a full smile.

     “How about a date tonight, beautiful?”

     I started to say something, but Terry, my friend and fellow coworker, came up behind me and said, “She gets off at ten.”  Then she took off to help a customer.

     Jonathan chuckled, “I like her, she’s cool, but I like you even better.  So how about it?  Tonight?”

     When I started to say that I couldn’t, he interrupted, “Great, I’ll pick you up at the North entrance.”

     I stood there dumbfounded as he disappeared among the mall’s crowd.  He hadn’t even given me a chance to say anything and now I was supposed to be going out with him.

     When I managed to get Terry alone, I questioned her, “Why did you do that?  Why did you tell him what time I got off?”

     Terry gave me a knowing smile, “I could tell you liked him.  Actions speak louder than words.”

     “But I can’t go out with him!  Mark’ll kill me!  I’m not supposed to associate with his kind!”  I whined.

     Terry just laughed, “Yes you can go out with him.  Mark won’t find out unless you tell him. Who cares about him anyway?  Give this guy a chance.  Besides, I could tell from looking at him that he doesn’t seem bad, I’m sure you’ll like him.  Didn’t you say you wanted something different?  He’s the perfect opportunity.”

     The more I tried to say how wrong this was, the more Terry convinced me that it was okay.  So, by ten, I had resigned myself to going out with Jonathan. I walked to my car in the North entrance parking lot and saw him sitting on the hood of my car, waiting for me as if he owned the car.  I walked up to him and spoke sarcastically, “That’s my car.”

     He nodded, “I know, that’s why I didn’t bring mine.”  He took the keys from my hand and headed for the driver’s side, “I’m driving,” he grinned.

     I figured that it was useless to argue with him, so I got in the passenger side.  After removing the top, he drove my Mustang into the heart of the city, passing up The Sidewalk.  I breathed a sigh of relief when he passed it up.  I was afraid he’d stop there and all of my friends would see us and I would get in trouble with Mark.

     He looked at me for a moment, with that now familiar half-smile, then looked out at the road.  “Don’t worry Alex, we’re not going where any of your friends hang out.”

     “Where are we going then?”  He was driving really fast and I could feel myself slowly sliding down into the seat.

    Jonathan laughed, “What’s the matter Alex, don’t you like having fun?”

    “Yes, but I don’t call this fun.”

     He suddenly pulled into a parking lot.  I saw a place with a sign that said, ‘Harvey’s’ and lots of people in front of it.  Most of them were dressed like Jonathan or worse.  I grimaced and turned to Jonathan with a complaint on my lips.

     Before I could say anything, he said, “Don’t worry, they’re not as bad as they look.  They won’t hurt you.  I promise.”

      I got out of the car and walked close by his side.  I was ready to run as soon as anyone approached me.  At the door, Jonathan placed an arm around my shoulders and smiled down at me, “Relax beautiful, I’m your protection tonight.”

      I tried smiling back, but somehow I didn’t find it very reassuring that he would be my protection.  The guy at the door took one look at Jonathan and let us in with a nod.

     Inside, the place was packed.  No one seemed to just be sitting around. Of course it was kind of hard to see with all the smoke and what little lighting there was. I thought the place had a lot of shadowed nooks and crannies until I noticed those shadows were moving. To my astonishment, those shadows were actually people doing God knows what in all that darkness! I blushed as my imagination tried to stay away from that topic. As I looked elsewhere, I realized everyone else seemed to be on the dance floor dancing ‘til they probably dropped.

     I was standing with my mouth hanging open, staring at the sea of bodies around me.  I knew it would be very possible to get lost in that sea.

     Jonathan was standing besides me already swaying to the music.  “So, do you want something to drink?” He spoke loudly into my ear.

“A coke,” I yelled back.  He nodded and headed to the bar.  I stood there and watched all the dancers throw their shame to the wind.  Someone tapped my shoulder and I whirled around.

     It wasn’t Jonathan, but someone else.  He was a little taller than Jonathan, but when he smiled, I felt like I could trust him.  “Hi, name’s Darryl, you’re a friend of Jonathan’s?”

     I nodded, “Are you a friend of his too?”

     “Yeah, and besides you, probably the only one he has,” he laughed, “C’mon, let’s go and find a table and wait for him okay?”

     Somehow I felt safe with Darryl.  He had a warm smile and his voice was not threatening or harsh.  We found an empty table and sat down.  Soon I was feeling comfortable listening to Darryl’s cheerful voice.

     He was pointing out some of the people on the dance floor and entertaining me with stories about them when Jonathan returned with our drinks.  He handed me my drink and sat down next to me.  I sniffed my drink then made a face.

     I looked at him and said, “I don’t drink.”

     He raised an eyebrow, “You mean to tell me that you’ve never had a drink after all the parties that you’ve gone to?”

     “No, I don’t like beer.” I retorted.  I knew he was teasing me with that remark, but it still stung.

     “This isn’t beer Alex, try it.  It tastes like vanilla coke.”

     I slowly raised the glass and swallowed some.  I discovered that it wasn’t bad tasting at all.  It definitely reminded me of vanilla coke, but I could taste the alcohol underneath that.  Still, the taste was rather soothing.

     “Do you like it?”  Jonathan was asking me for my approval.

     “Yes, I like it.  It’s exactly what you said it would be.”

     He smiled, “Yeah, it’s one of my favorite mixed drinks when I don’t want a beer.”

     I smiled.  Suddenly he seemed more bearable and I began to feel more at ease in his presence.  I was glad Terry had convinced me to go out with him.

     Jonathan got up and pulled me to my feet.  “C’mon, let’s dance.”  I let him lead me out to the dance floor where we started dancing. After a few moments he leaned in and spoke in my ear, “Alex, you're dancing like a robot. Let yourself relax. Feel the music flow through you.”

     I tried to do as he said, but I felt too self-conscious.  I was used to dancing for show because I was a role model for every girl at my high school.

     “Look around you Alex, no one cares how they look and no one cares how you look.  Let the music guide you.  Relax.  Enjoy yourself.”  He began to smile when he realized that I was finally relaxing and dancing with the music.  It felt good to be free to be myself.  So, this must be it, I thought, to be wild and free with not a care in the world.

     Throughout the night Jonathan kept me supplied with various drinks.  I kept asking for another one anyway.  I was really letting loose.  I kept pulling Jonathan out onto the dance floor for almost every single song.  I knew Jonathan was getting a kick out of watching me laughing and moving all over the dance floor.  I began flirting with every guy that seemed to pay attention to me.  I was having a blast.  I wasn’t quite drunk, but I felt good.  I felt on top of the world.  I never wanted to leave.

     Darryl was smiling when we got back to the table, “Well, looks like she’s getting too hot to handle, don’t you think Jonathan?”

     Jonathan shook his head with a grin, “No way, the fun’s only beginning.”

     “You can say that again!” I exclaimed, while spinning an empty bottle on the table.  This was only the beginning and I just knew that it would get even more exciting.  A familiar sultry dance song began playing and I grabbed Jonathan’s arm, “Ohhh, c’mon, let’s dance!”

     “Again?  Can you give me a break for a sec, my legs are gonna break any minute now!”

     “What’s the matter Jonny, did the alcohol take all your energy away?”

     He raised an eyebrow, then got up and followed me to the floor.  As the song continued, I started to hum along to the words and it helped me to get into the rhythm quickly.  I began flirting with Jonathan, letting my body move to the sultry beat.  He smiled his trademark smirk and tried to match my moves.  I threw my arms around his shoulders, sliding my body closer to his.  He placed his hands on my hips.  I began to match my actions to the words of the song and traced the line of his jaw with my finger as I mouthed to the lyrics.

     We were locked in each others arms and dancing slowly around the floor until I felt the wall against my back.  I looked up into his eyes and noticed how much softer they seemed to look now.  The usual mischievous look was gone.  He slowly lowered his face to mine as I stared into his eyes.  Suddenly I felt his lips on mine, warm and inviting as the kiss deepened.  His hands trailed up my back and pulled me closer to him.  I was lost in the kiss, forgetting for that moment that I shouldn’t be doing that.  I felt his hands roaming down my back and hips, then back up again.  His tongue slipped past my lips and invaded my mouth, making a warm feeling start in the pit of my stomach and spreading throughout my body.  I was feeling lightheaded and slightly dizzy, like I was floating on air.

     When I felt his hands moving up my ribs and chest, I was suddenly jerked back to earth.  I placed my hands on his chest and pushed softly, “No Jonathan, don’t.” I pushed him harder, “I’m not that kind of girl and you know it.”

     “Oh really?”  His face had an angry look as he remarked, “You were certainly enjoying it even if you aren’t that kind of girl.”

     I swallowed hard, “I’m sorry if I made you angry,” I paused, “I didn’t mean to get carried away.”

     He peered at me for a moment, then slowly smiled, “You mean to tell me that you’ve never gone that far?”

     I stared at him with wide eyes, “That’s none of your business!” I snapped. “C’mon Alex, no need to be embarrassed about it.”

     “I’m not embarrassed!”

     “You never went that far,” he stated with certainty.

     “How do you know?” I questioned.

     “Because of the way you are reacting.”

     I lowered my head, suddenly finding the floor very interesting.

     “Look Alex, when you’re with me, don’t be afraid to be truthful.  I promise not to laugh or make fun of you.  Okay?”

     I slowly nodded.

     “So, shall we go home or would you rather stay here a little longer?”  He gave me a reassuring smile which prompted me to say that I wanted to stay a little longer.  We ended up staying until the club closed then Jonathan drove me home.

     “Shouldn’t I drop you off?  You don’t have a car remember?”

     “No, I’ll walk.  I like walking at night, it helps me clear my mind and relax.”  He pulled up into the driveway and waited for me to get out before putting the top back up.  We walked up to the front door and he handed me the car keys.  “Are you working tomorrow?”

     “No, I don’t work on Sundays.”

     “How about spending the day with me then?  I’ll show you a couple of places that I like to go for an adventure.”

     “Okay,” I gave him a smile, “sounds like fun.”

     “I’ll pick you up at noon?” he asked.  When I nodded he leaned down to give me a soft, brief kiss on my lips before slowly turning away and walking down the sidewalk.

     I let myself into the house and walked upstairs to my room.  I looked at the clock on my desk and realized that it was almost three in the morning.  I changed into a nightshirt and climbed into bed.  I could now feel how tired I was, all that dancing and drinking was now catching up with me, but I knew I would do it all over again if given the chance.