Page 2

Connor

Sundays are usually the same—in the morning we go to church, then we sit around below the Den until late. The Den is our meeting spot. We have a couch there, a TV, a homemade gym. It’s cool. A bit like a second home. Phil’s dad made over his garage for us, so we didn’t hang around the neighborhood.

I’m counting out the time until the end nervously. That’s when I see her. Pretty, petite, loose hair reaching the small of her back, a round butt, nice tits, well-dressed. She’s standing there with her friend, back leaning against the wall. Theoretically, she’s totally not my type. I always tended to like taller girls, brunettes with large dark eyes. Exotic beauties. But that shortie has something unbelievable about her, a kind of magnetism that pulls me towards her. I wonder if her parents made her come here or if this is something more. She looks bored.

I’m not even eighteen yet, so yeah, I sometimes still have to listen to my folks. That whole church bullshit is a moneymaking scheme and nothing more. I mean, I feel that there is some kind of God, but I don’t need the Church and all those ceremonies to feel a connection to Him. She looks a bit absent too. She must feel someone is watching her, as she raises her head and starts scanning the crowd. A couple of moments pass, and our stares meet. For a split second her beautiful eyes look straight into mine, and I feel a weird kind of connection, as if we’ve met before. Uncomfortable with the intensity of my stare, she quickly averts her eyes, cheeks blushing deep red. I glance at her furtively a couple more times, counting on her looking shyly my way, but no such luck. God, have you sent me an angel? Millions of thoughts cloud my mind. I can’t wait until the end of the mass. I need to learn something more about that girl. When that moment finally comes, I spring up and cannon out of the church.

“Hey, Ve!” Myro shouts. “What’s the rush?”

I pretend I can’t hear him, instead getting straight to the surveillance. I need to know more about her, right now.

Positioning myself so that I can see her leaving, I wait. Finally, I see her—my angel.

“Who’s that, Myro?” I ask distractedly, pointing my chin to the opposite side of the street where two girls, one of them being her, stroll down the pavement. The other one, I now notice, is pretty attractive too. Taller and of a different build, but a nice piece of ass, nonetheless.

“What’s it to you, Ve?”

“Do you know her or not?” I’m losing my patience.

“I might know a thing or two, but the guys will know more. That taller one is Lizzy Spencer. I know her.”

“Well, let’s go to the Den, then.”

“What’s the rush?” Myro is taking the piss.

I cut him short: “I just want to know.”

As we reach our meeting place, Ted and the rest are already there. They’re having a giggle about Phil’s and Ted’s latest exploits—the former brought a girl to the Den and banged her on the couch while the latter watched from hiding. My mouth goes dry.

“I’m going to get a coke.”

“Wait up, Ve! I’m going with you,” Philip calls.

Waiting in line to pay, I see her enter the store. I’m not sure if I’m seeing things, but the way the sun shines through the window so brightly, I swear she has a halo around her. The way she moves, how she runs her hand through her silky-smooth hair, makes me all the more intrigued. I feel a strange tingling, but maybe I’m just imagining things. Philip jerks me out of my stupor.

“You okay, bro?”

“What?” I mutter, disoriented.

“I was asking if we wanted some ciggies?”

“Hey, Phil, listen, do you know that chick?”

“Which one?” he asks, looking around.

It’s only now that I notice they’re here together.

“The one over there.” I bob my head at the girl discreetly.

“Can’t say I do, but I heard a thing or two.”

“What did you hear?”

“That short one is Abigail Brooks. Don’t know how old she is, but she tends to keep weird company. The taller one is her friend, Lizzy Spencer. Pretty hot, if you ask me. The both of them.”

Back at the Den, I ask the others, “Guys, you know that girl? Abigail Brooks?”

“That little slut?”

Slut? No fucking chance. She doesn’t look that way. The way she blushed, noticing I was checking her out… There’s no way in hell she’s a slut.

“What about Lizzy Spencer?” I keep asking.

“Nice piece of ass. By the way, want to bet who’s going to be the one to bring one of them here and score first?” says Ted.

“I’m in,” Philip replies, surprisingly.

“What about you, Ve? You in or out?”

“Of course, I’m in!”

I don’t know if I made that decision knowing I have a way with the girls—I can see how they watch me—or because I felt a pang of envy when Phil agreed to that bet of Ted’s. He’s more experienced than I am, or at least likes to brag that he is, so everyone thinks that. I wasn’t going to let her fill my head too much, but now it’s a whole different story. A bet’s a bet, and I’m going to win it. Somehow, strangely, I feel it deep down inside that I can’t let Philip put his hands on that girl.

Since that fateful day, I’ve gone to church every Sunday, trying to see her. She’d always stand in that same spot, so pristine. I couldn’t keep her out of my head. And that one day I saw her with some scrawny fuck. Who the fuck was that? The first thing that came to my mind was to beat the living crap out of him.

“Come on, Ve, get yourself together. You see she’s in with some kids.” Myro tried appeasing me, seeing me bubbling with anger.

“A bet is a bet, Myro. No way I’m going to let Phil win. Just… How do I get to know her? I’m not going to walk right up to her, am I? I need a plan. Play my cards right and win this thing.”

One Sunday, I was sitting by the Den when Myro, Ted, and Philip came over. They stepped out of the car all giddy with excitement.

“What’s so funny, dickwads?”

“Ha! We’ve just said hi to your Abigail. She was on her way from church. We drove by and talked some shit at her. Asked her if she’d date us.”

“And? What did she say?” I asked, a bit nervous though hiding it.

“Not much. She told us to fuck off, gave us the finger, and went her way.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. Was I holding my breath the entire time?

“But that’s not the end. We saw where she lives. Ted went up the other elevator, and when she shut the door to her apartment, he rang the bell and bailed.”

What a bunch of idiots , I thought. That made Philip’s position a lot harder, on the other hand, which put a smile on my face. They screwed themselves over. I’d win this in no time. In the meantime, I learned that Stanley was in the same class as that guy she had been walking with before. And that he knew her, as she was friends with his friend. Fate seems to favor me, I thought. I had to put that knowledge to good use.