As I write this we're under total lockdown. Someone from the Aryan Brotherhood stabbed someone from the Mexican gang. Another daily occurrence here in paradise. I guess I should explain. I'm serving 25 years to life in the Florida State Penitentiary in Starke, Florida for a crime I really didn't commit. I know all convicts say that but in my situation it's true. To explain I'll start at the beginning. The very beginning.
I grew up in the then sleepy town of St. Petersburg, Florida. Since the age of seven Jessie Douglas was my best friend. It was a strange friendship, I'll admit. Jessie and I couldn't be more different. At pickup baseball games Jessie was always selected first; I was picked last, if at all. When we got to middle school it was clear that Jessie was headed for something big. Captain of the football team, a straight 'A' student and the most popular kid in school. Me, I was his tag-along. Where Jessie went I went. I was secretly glad just to be able to hang around him.
High school and college were no different. Jessie played on the football team; I was the team assistant, meaning I got to do the player's homework for them when they had to go to practice. That went on throughout college. When we graduated, Jessie left college the valedictorian and proud new owner of a Corvette from his parents; I left the possessor of a diploma with a solid 'C' average.
Still, we stayed close friends. Jessie went back to St. Petersburg to take over running his family business. Me, I found a job nearby in Tampa, plying my trade as an accountant. About a year later I got a phone call from Jessie that changed everything.
"You have to see her," Jessie exclaimed, "She is beautiful. Long blonde hair, green eyes and a body that won't quit. Why don't you come to St. Pete for the weekend? I want you to meet her." I could never refuse Jessie.
After getting to St. Pete that weekend we went to Jessie's parent's house for dinner. When we got there everyone, his father, mother, sister, were all bubbly about the new girlfriend. I didn't even know her name; Jessie's girl was how they referred to her. Who was this mystery woman, I wondered?
I didn't have long to wait. An angel entered the door to the house. She was beautiful, more than beautiful; she was beautiful and sexy at the same time. I was captivated.
And she was friendly. She walked right up to me and introduced herself.
"Hi," she said, "You must be Robert (that's my name by the way although today I'm just prisoner 8674464). I'm Lisa, Jessie's girl." She beamed a smile at him that made me wince. Why, oh why, couldn't I have a girl like this, I thought?
We spent the weekend together, us three. My best friend Jessie, his girl and I went to the movies, dinner and a baseball game at Tropicana Field. Why would I want to be the third wheel? Because during our first dinner Jessie's girl reached over and touched my hand, telling me she had heard all about me. The feel of her hand on mine sent a bolt of electricity through me. I was in love. I know it sounds stupid, she was Jessie's girl but still, she had become my dream girl.
I went back home after that weekend changed forever. I was obsessed with Jessie's girl. At work, I couldn't concentrate. I wondered, was she watching him with those big green eyes? I knew she was loving him with her body. And he was holding her in his arms late at night. It should be me, I thought, not Jessie.
I racked my brain. Where can I find a woman like that? But I knew the answer. There was only one like her and she was Jessie's girl.
A few weeks later my cell phone rang. The voice on the other end was sobbing hysterically. I recognized it as Lisa, Jessie's girl.