After the Beginning B. 01

As with Chapter 1, all characters in this chapter (all chapters) are over 18. There are a few times the characters may think back to when they were younger, but there are no sexual activities in any of those memories.

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The next morning before school I sat on the sofa watching GI Joe and eating a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Mom and dad left for work pretty early every day, and mom always woke me on her way out the door. I was Lord of the Manor for one hour and twenty minutes every morning before school. This ruling of the house proved invaluable during the

Beth Debacle

. My best friend Raj Jeffries had coined that name for the whole mess.

"Dutch, Cobra Commander is not here," Destro taunted from the TV.

I swallowed the last bite of cereal and turned the bowl up. Drinking the sugary milk was my favorite part of my morning breakfast. I looked past the bowl at my front door. I could still see the way Beth looked that last morning- tear streaked eyes, hardly brushed hair. 'It is over,' she had said, and offered one last fuck.

I shivered. It was all so surreal. That girl had occupied all my thoughts and affected all my decisions for nearly six months. In less than 24 hours it went from her saying, 'Ok, you're right, I do love you' to me feeling the barrel of a pistol on my temple and finally to her saying, 'It is over' right at my front door. She was already back with Kenny, and she wanted one last fuck from me.

The strangest part is that I understood-, maybe, it was all way too new. I was okay with it all, though. Weird. Now, the whole situation simply excited me anew, and I loved sharing the tale with Abby.

I took my bowl to the kitchen and climbed into my gray Pontiac Grand Am. Two minutes later I waited in Jeffries's driveway. "Hurry up, numb nuts," I called out the window when I saw Jeffries step out of his house.

"I'm trying to give you time to unwad your panties." Raj fell into the passenger side. "What's up?" He put in a Tom Petty tape and turned it up. "Have fun with Abby last night? Hit that shit, yet?"

"No, but things got a bit interesting yesterday." I couldn't hide my grin.

"Do tell." Raj pushed fast-forward. "Let's listen to

Yur So Bad

."

"I was driving out by Eastern Edge. Abby was with me." I started.

"Spell-binding story so far." Raj lit a cigarette.

"Give me one." I did not call myself a smoker at that point. I only ever bummed cigs off Raj, and never bought my own. Raj passed me a Marlboro Light and, after lighting it, I continued, "Kenny Harris drove right by us."

"Did you pop a U-ee and run him off the road?" He blew smoke out the crack atop the window.

"No."

"You should have, pussy." Raj ashed through the window gap. "I told you that night you should have beat his ass. Look at you, over 6', played football-"

"I wasn't any good," I admitted.

"Better than that little bitch, Kenny. What is he, like 5'3"? I'm still disappointed in you. You should have thrown that fucker across the parking lot, pussy." Raj pointed at me.

"He had a gun, Raj." My defense came out as a squeal. "It was against my temple. You might remember." I made a gun with my hand and held it to his temple.

"Whatever, I doubt it was loaded. You could have wiped the floor with that ass then fucked his girl in front of him while he tried to stand up." Raj always jumped at every chance to grieve me over that night.

"Technically, she was my girl then," I corrected.

"Sure," Raj shook his head. "I doubt he would agree. I don't want to talk about her any more. It makes me feel sorry for you like how I feel sorry for Natty." Raj laughed. Natty was the special needs girl we had both gone to school with our whole lives.

"Abby wants me to tell her about it." I could feel Raj staring at me waiting for more. "Kenny actually smiled and waved when he saw me. You believe that?"

"Why does Abby want to talk about it?" he asked.

"It turns her on," I admitted.

"Whatever, weirdo. You and your boring, nerdy girlfriend can while away the hours talking about the girl that used to suck your dick. I don't give a shit." Raj ejected Tom Petty and put in

User Your Illusion II

. Axl Rose had been screeching a bit before Raj spoke again. "Why can't you just let Beth go, bro?"

"I did, man. Seeing Kenny was just a surprise." I wasn't still hung up on Beth.

"But you have never stopped talking about her." Raj hit fast forward. "I want to hear

Don't Cry

before we get to school."

"This version on

two

is better." Guns N Roses

Use Your Illusion

album was really two albums,

I

and

II

. Don't Cry was the only song on both albums, but the lyrics were different on each album.

"Usually. Sometimes

one

is better, though." Raj fast-forwarded and rewound the tape to zero into the start of the song.

"Yeah. I did stop talking about her, though." I thought it was hot that my girlfriend wanted me to talk to her about other girls. I expected to get some kind of legend status out of it. Instead, Raj tried to make me seem like a love sick fool. "I never would have talked about her if Abby didn't beg for me to."

"Don't you cry tonight," Raj said in time with the tape player and in mockery of me.

"Fuck you." I punched his arm with a laugh. "I should make you walk."

We both laughed and changed the subject. Ten minutes later we arrived to school, and said our goodbyes. Raj and I hardly saw each other at school- different circles. I saw Raj at school even less than I saw Abby.

Most high school couples consume all of each other's time, but Abby and I were different. We might see each other between morning classes, but barely spoke until fourth period Civics class. We were both honors students, and the only class we shared was a non-honors core class.

She sat in her seat already when I arrived at econ class. She looked like a magazine cover. Spring was warming nicely, but there was still a bit of a chill in the wind outside. Abby was dressed in a flowing skirt and a tan sweater, perfect for the weather and to turn heads. "Hey, Abby," I said simply. Abby always hated pet names.

"Het, studmuffin." She stood and kissed me, something she had never done before at school unless you count our first kiss in the parking lot while no one watched.

"What has got into you?" I asked with a whisper.

"Nothing, yet, but my sexy boyfriend gets into any other girl he wants." Abby did not whisper. Her words stole the attention of other students near us.

I stood open-mouthed for a moment, and I was saved when Coach Edmonds entered the room. "Seats," he called out before taking his own seat behind the desk. "Today we are going to explore the question: 'Is America a Christian country?'".

By the end of class the answer for that question remained a mystery, but my mind was occupied elsewhere. "Why did you call me 'studmuffin'? You hate pet names," I said as Abby and I headed for lunch.

"I don't know. It just feels right, now." She pop-kissed my cheek. "Are you eating with me today?"

A couple weeks earlier I started eating with Abby and her friends about half the time. The other half I stayed with my old lunch crew. "Sure."

"Good." She smiled that sweet smile and tossed her long blonde hair. "I am not jealous when you sit with Jennifer and Misty, but I think you should sit with me today." She had an air of mischief. We entered the crowded cafeteria, and Abby stopped at a coke machine. "Go ahead and get your food. I'm just gonna grab a coke."

"You got it." A moment later I stood in the line deciding if I wanted pizza or meatloaf when hands covered my eyes from behind.

"Guess who, Mr. Bonus Points," the sweet recognizable voice spoke behind me.

"What's up, Jennifer?" I turned to see her standing beside Misty. Either one of those girls alone would stop traffic, and they always traveled together. It was an accident waiting to happen.

Charlsie Owen was generally considered the primo girl in school, and, though Charlsie was a good friend, I had to admit that Jennifer or Misty either one could take Charlsie's title. Jennifer and Misty came as a set. It was impossible to consider one without the other. I always thought their duality split the vote and kept them runner-ups. Charlsie was incredibly hot, too, though; it was a really tough case to consider. Regardless, out of those three, Jennifer was my favorite; she was almost a sister.

There in the lunch line, Jennifer wore jeans and a button up blouse. She was a rather conservative girl and hardly used any make-up. Her sandy blonde hair hung in a pony tail down her back. She looked the same she did every day- simple and beautiful. Misty stood beside Jennifer in juxtaposition. For school every day, Misty readied herself as anything but simple. If the boys at school had to pick out one girl who epitomized sex, it would be Misty. She was quiet and approachable, and her make up was always on point. Her hair was permed and styled perfectly; I could picture her spending an hour every morning styling her hair. That day she wore shorts and a tee, both of which gripped her body and accentuated every curve.

"Are you ever going to share any of Mrs. Bingle's points?" Jennifer asked. I shared English Literature with Jennifer and Misty- Charlsie, too. The teacher, Mrs. Bingle, sometimes asked ad-hoc bonus questions at the end of class. I had a talent for instant recall, so I was the bonus point champ.

"This is a school, not a charity." I leaned into Jennifer and bumper her shoulder with mine to show her I was kidding.

"Sitting with us?" Misty asked.

"I'm sitting with Abby today," I said. Misty and Jennifer both nodded. It was my turn to order. I told the lunch lady, "Pizza, please."

"You guys are really getting close?" Jennifer asked.

"Well, we are dating, so..." I said with a laugh.

Jennifer leaned close and whispered. "Have you had sex with her, yet?"

"Jennifer!" I took the plate of pizza from the lunch lady. "I won't kiss and tell."

"Bullshit. You told me on the first day of class in January that you made love with Beth Catsman over Christmas break." Jennifer seemed offended.

"I told you already, Abby is Catholic. She is waiting until marriage." A nervous knot built in my stomach.

"She is probably just scared," Misty said. "Maybe Jennifer and I can teach her things."

"Misty!" Jennifer slapped her arm. "I am dating, Greg!" Greg Fisher had graduated two years before, and he had dated Jennifer since we were freshmen. Jennifer never talked about sex, but she was nineteen and had been dating the same guy for years. I had to assume.

"Jennifer, get your mind out of the gutter. I just mean we could talk to her. We don't have to let her watch Joey fuck you." Misty rolled her eyes with a smile. "You would though."

"I would not! Stop it." The girls laughed together.

I paid for my lunch. "See ya, girls."

"See ya, sweetie." Jennifer said. They each kissed an opposite cheek and laughed about the redness of my face.

I crossed the cafeteria and joined Abby. She sat across from her best friend, Angela. I never had a problem with Angela, but we were never friends. Angela was very shy, plain, and nerdy. She was Baptist, not Catholic, and I had no idea of her sexual history. I highly suspected she was even more virgin than Abby. Angela wore baggy jeans and a T-shirt that should have been tossed in a rag pile long ago.

The girls shushed their conversation as I sat. "Where's Randy and Michael?" I asked. Michael had been a quasi-friend since Freshman Physical Science. He and I had never been close, but he always made me laugh. Randy, though, made me uncomfortable. No one in the school admitted to being gay, but everyone aside from Randy himself, knew Randy was gay. He often made fun of my clothes or hair or something else for which I had no concern.

"They're coming." Abby pointed. "Maria's with them." She grasped Angela's hand. "We will continue this discussion later. I meant what I said." She nodded to Angela. Angela glanced at me and nodded back to Abby. Abby turned to me, "Doesn't Angela have really pretty eyes? I was just telling Angela how pretty her eyes were."

Abby tried to hint a response from me with her eyes, and, when that didn't work, she goosed me under the table. "What?" I asked.

"Angela's eyes. Aren't they pretty?" Abby asked.

I moved my stare to Angela and watched her face red. I had never studied Angela's features since she dressed like a hobo, but she really was pretty underneath the potato sack wardrobe. Her big brown eyes looked like a chocolate chip adornment on a ball of cotton. The contrast was interesting if you noticed. Her round soft face elicited an instinct to protect her. "Yes, Angela's eyes are nice." I nodded. "You are very pretty, Angela."

"Thank you, Joey, but you don't have to say that." She looked down bashfully.

I saw Abby's friends approaching. Maria was a very funny girl, and she made hanging with Abby's friends more tolerable. She was not attractive, and she weighed as much as four Abby's. She could tell a joke very well, though, and she and Michael had been friends since kindergarten.

"Hey, Joey." Michael sat across from me, next to Angela. Maria sat beside him. Randy sat on the other side of Abby from me. Michael continued, "I'm glad you're joining us, I get tired of being the only testosterone wielder in the group."

"I'm right here," Randy protested.

"I know," Michael answered.

"See if I save you a seat on the bus," Randy countered.

"Do you have trouble on the bus, Michael?" Maria asked. "Is it a syllabus?"

"You guys still ride the bus?" I asked.

"Some of us actually buy new clothes and don't scavenge dumpsters. We don't have enough cash for a car." Randy's insults annoyed me more than they offended me.

"Angela said you guys are going to the lake Saturday." Abby jumped in.

"Yeah, you guys coming?" Michael nodded to Abby and me.

"No." Abby and I said in unison.

Abby continued, "We have plans. Angela is coming with us."

"We do?" I asked and winced when Abby pinched me under that table.

"Yes, Angela asked for help with.." She looked at Angela. "It's school, right? A subject, right? It's-"

"Latin," Angela said.

"Yes, Latin. I told her you were really good at Latin. Will you help?" Abby asked.

"Libenter inserviet," I said. Everyone cast blank states at me. "Of course, I will help."

We finished lunch, and, when the bell rang, we all started for our 5th period. I walked Abby to her locker. "What is Saturday about?"

"What?" Abby was distracted. "Oh, don't worry. It will be fun."

Aside from the 'studmuffin' comment in Civics, Abby had returned to her old self. It almost felt like I had imagined the previous day. "I mean. Are you.. Am I... Does Angela..." I didn't know how to finish, so I let it go. "I thought you said no PDA and no pet names."

"I'm over the pet name thing, and I decided there is no reason I should not kiss you at school. Doxie actually made fun of me over it. I had to admit she was correct. That was the worst part." The crowd of students around us had grown during our chat. Abby's head swiveled as she looked around at the crowd. SHe turned back to me with a spark of mischief in her eyes. "Kiss me. Kiss me now."

I hesitated, and Abby's face jumped to mine tongue first. She dropped her book to the ground and wrapped both arms around my neck. Other students continued to bump and jostle us as we kissed. This was our first hallway kiss. After less than one minute, I felt the crowd closing in around us. Abby ended the kiss after the first 'get it, boy' from the spectators. She picked up her book, and we continued.

"Angela is a pretty girl, yes?" Abby's voice had regained the arrogant British tone I adored.

"Sure, Abby, but why?" I held my palms up with the question as we walked. "All this talk about Angela and how pretty she is, this clan destine event with Angela on Saturday, all your sudden changes." I waited for Abby to respond as we came to a stop at her locker. She entered her lock combination wordlessly. "Maybe, if you would just tell me, then-"

"Yes. I know she doesn't seem like much, but I have seen her nude. She is a beautiful girl. Besides, if you want me to keep sucking that dick, you need to do something for me, too." She pulled her Economics book from her locker and shut it. "I'm just kidding, baby. I'll keep doing that no matter what, but... I don't know."

"What is it you want, Abby? This all started with me telling you a story from my past, one that I barely started by the way, but for some reason I feel like you are the one with all the secrets." I felt frustrated, mostly because I did not know why I was frustrated.

Abby poked my nose with her index finger. "You are so cute." She pulled books from her locker. "Trust me, you will have fun Saturday. Let's just wait."

"This is crazy." I put my arm around Abby's shoulders. "You are crazy. I love you though."

"You better!" She pressed her cheek into the side of my chest as we walked. I walked her all the way to her fifth period Economics class and made it to Drama one second before the bell.

Abby's cute sister Doxie shared Drama with me, and she attacked as soon as I entered. "Why would you wear that?" Doxie stood with her hand on her hip waving her arm up and down pointing at me. "A flannel shirt unbuttoned over a tank top. Do you think Abby likes that? I happen to know that she does not."

"I just finished making out with her. She didn't complain." I stepped past Doxie.

"I never said she didn't like kissing you." She threw her hands up. Doxie and Abby both had long blonde hair, but the similarities ended there. Abby was fairly tall at 5'8", and Doxie was barely 5'. Abby was nerdy, and Doxie pretended to be a country girl. I had even caught her dipping snuff backstage during the one act rehearsals.

"Hey Jeffries!" I called out. Raj sat on the couch on the stage studying his script. He and I were in different one acts, and I volunteered to be the line feeder for his show. The plan was for me to be on stage behind the sofa, hidden from the audience, but ready to provide lines if needed.

Raj and Doxie played a married couple visiting the bride's parents. The play was a really funny comedy of errors. It reminded me of a good Three's Company scene. Raj and Doxie both shared stories with one of the parents while the other was off stage. The stories got all mixed up. The one act climaxed to a big 4 person fight where no one could understand what anyone else was angry about. My role as line-feeder became important then since the lines didn't really feed off each other.

"You got your lines?" Raj asked without looking up.

"Mostly." I fell to the sofa. "We have a couple weeks. Hey, my clothes are fine, right?"

"Huh?" Raj looked over at my clothes. "I guess, it's not ripped or anything. Sure, it is a couple weeks, but Nicole is out this week."

Nicole Mason was my co-star. We played a married couple on vacation in a wooded cabin only to learn the cabin is haunted by another young couple. After 30 minutes of humor, there is a very emotional scene where we realize that the young couple are alone, and we are the ghosts. Nicole collapses into my arms in tears at curtain close.

Nicole was cute in a soft, cuddly, fresh raisin cookie kind of way. A cute button nose adorned her oval face. She did not wear a lot of make-up, but the quality of her genes was apparent. I did not really know Nicole until Drama class, but I heard she came from money.

"He thinks just because my sister kisses him, he is allowed to dress that way without being made fun of." Doxie marched toward the stage with Janet laughing behind her.

Janet locked eyes with me and pointed at Doxie then spun a finger around her ear. "Doxie, Joey can dress however he wants." She plopped in one of the seats in the theater and opened her script. "He can also undress however he wants." She winked at me.