Claudia was sitting at the breakfast table eating a chocolate croissant when she heard the knock on the door. Instead of getting up to answer it, she only kept her eyes planted on the book that was in her hand.
Thick enough to be used as a doorstop, the book was a true crime novel about a murder spree that had been committed by a small-town couple back in the 1950’s. She’d been meaning to read it for some time and was less than keen on allowing intrusions, so as the knocking continued on, she huddled over her book more intently.
“I’m kinda busy here, Claude. Could you get the door?” Still clad in her robe, Mona was juggling several burners on the stove while simultaneously fiddling with a problematic juicer.
With clear reluctance, Claudia rose to her feet. She padded slowly towards the front door before pulling it open, but as soon as she did, she found herself wishing that she could close it back.
“Hey.” A broad smile crossed Lucas’s face at the sight of her.
“Hello.” Embarrassed by her just-woke-up look, she lifted her hands to her hair, which was still messily tousled from sleep. “What are you doing here?”
“I was driving home from some morning fishing and your house was on the way, so I thought I’d stop by and say hello.”
“Oh…” She combed her fingers through her hair a few more times before following up with, “Well hello back at ya.”
“And, I wanted to give you this.” He proudly held up a salmon that was large enough to feed an army.
“Oh my God, that thing is huge.” Claudia wasn’t the least bit knowledgeable about fish, but it was obvious from the silvery luster of its scales that the one Lucas had caught was quite a beauty.
Having overheard their conversation, Mona joined Claudia at the door. Her gaze came to focus on Lucas first, and after giving him a long, steady look, she allowed her eyes to drift to the salmon.
“That *is* a big fish. Did you catch it yourself?”
Lucas nodded.
“Wow.” So taken by the sight of the huge salmon, it took Mona a few moments to come to the realization that the teenage boy standing on her porch steps was there to impress her daughter. “So, you must be the boy that Claudia went out with yesterday evening.”
Lucas’s smile instantly disappeared. His shoulders slightly sagged, and his chest which had been puffed out with pride was now deflated.
“You went out with a guy last night?” he asked.
Noting the change in his demeanor, Claudia shifted on her feet. She briefly looked at her mother to give the signal that she needed some privacy, then allowed her eyes to once again rest on Lucas, who was giving her a rather intent stare.
“I’ve got breakfast on the stove, so I’ll leave you two to talk in privacy,” Mona said while drifting away from the threshold of the porch.
As soon as her mother was gone, Claudia expected Lucas to launch into a series of questions. She expected him to do something other than just stand there and give her a dirty look. But as she watched and waited for him to finally react, she found herself concerned at the way he had gone utterly silent. As still as a statue, he only continued to look at her before finally speaking in a voice that wasn’t just overly deep, but brimming with anger.
“Who is he?”
“A friend of Kimi’s,” she replied.
“What’s his name?”
“I don’t think that’s any of your business.”
“Tell me. I want to know who he is.”
“No.” She said it with a firmness that made it clear she wasn’t going to relent.
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll just find out anyways,” Lucas stated. “The reservation is small, and word travels fast.”
“So find out,” Claudia said. “But I am not giving you his name.”
“What did you do with him?”
“Again, none of your business.”
“Did you let him put his hands on you?”
“Are you even listening to me?” She asked. “I said It’s none of your business, so stop interrogating me, okay?”
“Everything all right, Claudia?” Having overheard the conversation, Big John had stepped into the small entryway where Claudia was standing.
“Yes, everything is fine.” She stepped out onto the porch, and after shutting the door behind her, led Lucas to the other end of the porch so that they could talk in privacy.
“What is the matter with you?” She asked.
“What’s the matter with *you*?
“I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“You went out with another guy.”
“So?”
“You’re supposed to be with me.”
“Since when?” She asked. “You never asked me to be your girlfriend.”
“I thought it was obvious we were headed that way.”
“What am I, a mind reader?”
“You know that I like you, Claudia.”
“And I like you. But as I just stated, you never asked me to be exclusive with you.”
“So that means you start skanking around with another guy?”
“Skanking?” Her body visibly tensed. “I know you did not just call me a skank.”
“I didn’t call you a skank. I just said that your behavior is similar to one.”
“*You’re* calling *me* a skank?” A harsh, escort humorless laugh found its way from her lips. “If that’s not funny, I don’t know what is.”
“Say what you want about me, but there are different standards for girls.”
“I don’t believe you,” she said. “You’re the biggest hypocrite I’ve ever met.”
“I could say the same about you.”
“Oh, really?” She asked.
“Yes.”
“And how am I a hypocrite?”
“You made me wait nearly three months just to kiss you, but last night you went out with some strange guy and – “
“And what?” She urged him in a curt tone of voice. “You don’t even know what it is that we did.”
“You went out with him at *night*.”
“So?”
“So when a guy asks you to go out with him at night, he’s sending the signal that he wants to get laid.”
“Just because he wanted to, doesn’t mean that that’s what happened.”
“Look, just tell me if you had sex with him,” Lucas said. “All I want to hear is a yes or no. That’s it.”
“Why is it so damn important to you?” She asked. “We’re not even in a relationship, so what makes you think that you have a right to that information?”
“I’m just asking for a simple answer.”
“No, I didn’t, okay? I’m still a virgin. Now will you please just leave me alone?”
She turned and headed for the door, but Lucas grabbed her hand to prevent her from putting any more distance between them.
“What?” She asked while turning on her heel. “What is it you want to know now?”
“What happened to you?” His eyes searched her face, as if seeing yet not recognizing who she was. “You’re changing…you’re becoming like Kimi.”
“What does that mean?”
“I think you already know.”
“No, I’m afraid I don’t,” she said. “So please, enlighten me.”
“Kimi sleeps around.”
“Again, your hypocrisy is astounding.”
“My point still stands,” he said.
“So what if she sleeps around? That’s her business.”
“You are who you associate with.”
“Well if that’s true, then I guess you shouldn’t associate with me anymore, because Kimi is my friend and nothing is going to change that.”
“I could care less about you hanging out with Kimi,” he said. “But I do care about you spending time with other guys. I don’t like it, and I want you to stop.”
“You still hang out with Misty.”
“Yeah…”
“So what if *I* told *you* to stop seeing her?”
“Then I would.”
Stunned silence preceded Claudia’s words. “Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“You would drop Misty to go out with me?”
“Yes, I would. But only if you agreed to start having sex with me.”
“Of course, I knew there had to be a catch.”
“Well you can’t expect me to commit myself to you if you’re not even willing to meet me halfway,” he said.
“You told me that you were okay with waiting until I was ready,” she reminded him. “You said that there was no pressure.”
“And I meant that,” he said. “But I have *needs*, Claudia. I can’t just sit around waiting forever until you decide whether or not you want to sleep with me.”
“But we’ve only known each other four months.”
Lucas let out a sigh through his nostrils. “Look, at least I’m being up front and not feeding you lies,” he said. “If I was truly just after you for sex, I would have told you what you wanted to hear a long time ago.”
His statement rung of truth, that much she had to admit. But at the same time, how could she be entirely certain that Lucas would actually commit himself only to her?
“Having sex is normal, Claudia,” Lucas continued. It’s what people do when they’re attracted to each other. You’re *supposed* to do it. It’s an accepted thing that everybody does – that is unless you’re abnormal. “
“So because It’s accepted, that means that I have to do it?”
“You just don’t get it, do you?” He pushed out a harsh breath before speaking in a voice that was laced with frustration. “Look, I’ve grown tired of this whole game, and now that I know you’ve been out with another guy, it just makes it all the more obvious that you’re stringing me along. So just continue doing what you’re doing, okay? Go out with strange guys, let them do whatever it is that you let them do to you…be a cock tease all you want, because I honestly don’t care anymore.”
Claudia lightly flinched at the harshness in his tone. Without even realizing it, she slowly began to back away from Lucas, and with a waver to her voice, she gave a reply.
“Well if you don’t care, then I guess we shouldn’t talk to each other anymore. Because we clearly want things that neither of us is willing to give, so why don’t we just make this the last time that we ever hang out?”
“If that’s what you want, then fine,” Lucas said, and in one smooth movement, he tossed the freshly caught salmon onto the mat in front of her door. “Enjoy your fish.”
He hurried down the steps and towards his beat up Chevy, where he got into the cab, slammed the door, and started up the engine. As if expressing Lucas’s anger, it rumbled to life escort bayan loudly. He threw the car into reverse, and with a harsh jerk on the steering wheel that made one of the front wheels of his truck temporarily leave the ground, he sped off down the street. Claudia was just about to open the door when Big John stepped out, and in the process, he nearly tripped over the huge salmon that had been thrown on the welcome mat.
“Hey, what’s this?” Picking up the fish, he tested its weight in his hands. “He brought you a salmon?”
“Yes.”
“And he caught it himself?”
“Yeah.”
“This is a big one. Must be at least fifteen pounds.”
Claudia’s shoulders pulled into a shrug.
“He must be pretty sweet on you to give away a big, beautiful fish like this.” He pressed his nose to the salmon and deeply inhaled before saying, “My vote is for cutting it up into thick filets and frying it up for dinner. But It’s your fish, so It’s your decision.”
“I don’t care about the fish, and I don’t care about him,” Claudia said. “So do what you want with it, because I don’t care.” She squeezed past Big John and into the house, where she saw that her mother was in the kitchen and stacking pancakes onto a plate.
“I made your favorite, Claude. Blueberry.”
“No thanks, I’m not hungry,” she said while grabbing the true crime book that she had been reading.
“I’ll leave them under a plate for you in case you get your appetite back later on,” Mona said.
The lump in Claudia’s throat made if difficult for her to manage more than a sad sounding “Okay” in response, and with the smell of salmon still lining her nostrils, she headed down the hallway and toward her bedroom.
* * * *
Lucas’s old Chevy pickup was speeding north along Highway 2. Already pushing 70 mph, he pressed harder on the gas so that the speedometer needle crawled higher to 85. It was at this point that the engine began to make an eerie whining noise, but it made no difference to Lucas, because he was currently being held hostage by thoughts of Claudia. He hated himself for thinking about her, but the more that he tried to push her from his mind, the more insistent the thoughts became.
She’s just a cock tease, he reminded himself. Nothing more than a silly little immature girl that gets off on making you want her. That’s all she is. And you know that there’s nothing worse than a cock tease.
But if that were true, then why did he still want her so bad? What was it about Claudia that made him so possessive over her? There were lots of other pretty girls on the reservation that would give it up to him in a heartbeat, so why was he wasting his time on the one who was interested in doing nothing more than playing games?
Although he knew that it *had* happened, Lucas still found himself wanting to deny that she had gone out with another guy. Denial was far easier than facing reality, so if he could just convince himself that it hadn’t actually happened, then perhaps the torturous thoughts would stop. But he couldn’t lie to himself, and against his will, the images continued to bombard his mind.
He was just pulling off the highway and onto the street when the Chevy approached a stoplight, but instead of heeding the red signal, Lucas only pressed harder on the gas, just narrowly missing a car that was coming through the other end of the intersection. It honked, then swerved before continuing along its way, but not without the driver laying hard and long on its horn.
With his blood pumping quicker and his heart rate accelerated, Lucas was temporarily distracted by the rush of adrenaline that coursed through his veins. Grateful for the distraction, he hungrily fed off of the adrenaline rush. But as the feeling of excitement began to wear off, he found that his thoughts shifted back to Claudia.
Tilted, cat-like, and incredibly seductive, her eyes were the prettiest that he had ever seen, but it was her hair and skin that really drove him crazy. Her complexion, which was brown as cinnamon, and those long, tightly coiled ringlets that were thick enough for him to lose his fingers in made something deep in his lower belly respond. He could only imagine how amazing it would feel to have that soft, feminine body pressed against his own, but before he could fully indulge himself in the vision, a streak of anger rushed through him.
At present moment, he was feeling rather negatively about Claudia, so why the hell was he fantasizing about her? Hoping to lessen the pressure of his bulge against his pants, Lucas shifted his manhood, but that only increased the stimulation that he received. Inwardly cursing at the uncontrollable nature of his manhood, Lucas drove a little quicker.
Although he was driving without the slightest clue of where he was headed, it did make him feel good to be off of the reservation, and away from all of the baggage that came along with his day to day life there. With each mile that passed, he began to feel a little less high strung, but frustratingly, that sick feeling in the bayan escort pit of his stomach was still there.
The mere thought of her with being with another guy alone filled him with a white-hot jealousy that was nearly suffocating, and as he tightened his grip around the steering wheel, his jaw clenched tight with anger.
He didn’t like contemplating the possibility, but he knew there was a very good chance that Claudia and this other guy had engaged in some type of intimate activity. The truly burning question, however, was just how intimate had they gotten?
Feeling angry, frustrated, and tormented all at the same time, Lucas made a vow to himself that he would find out the identity of Claudia’s date. It couldn’t be hard to do, considering that everyone was connected in some way or another on the reservation, so if he just asked around and questioned a few people who were in the know, he was certain to find the answer that he was seeking.
The events that would take place once he obtained this information were entirely unknown to Lucas, because he didn’t fully understand why it was such an obsession for him to know in the first place. But at least he would have a name and a face to connect to the mystery man. A punchable face, undoubtedly. But a face all the same.
He was nearly an hour away from the reservation when he realized that the best way to take his mind off of Claudia was to distract himself with a different girl. One who was easygoing, and always down to hook up.
He didn’t have to think twice about who he wanted to contact, and after retrieving his phone from the passenger seat, he dialed the number of Alisa – a cute blonde he occasionally hooked up with. He was just reminiscing about the last time he’d seen her when she answered the phone in her seductively husky voice.
“Hello?”
“Hey, It’s Lucas.”
“Oh hey there, stranger. It’s been awhile since we last spoke.”
“Yeah, I know. Sorry I haven’t called you in weeks, but I’ve just been really busy.”
“No worries, babe. I’m just happy to hear from you.”
“So what’s up. Is your dad home right now?”
“Nope. He won’t be back until later this afternoon.”
Glancing at the dashboard clock, Lucas saw that it was just past eleven a.m.
“How late?”
“Three, maybe four o’clock.”
“Oh. That late, huh?
“Yep. So you wanna come over, sexy?” Alissa asked.
“Oh yeah. I’d love to.” But no sooner had he spoken those words, did he notice the flashing of police cruiser lights in his rearview mirror. “Shit.”
“What?”
“Uh, I’m gonna have to call you back later.”
“Why?” She asked.
“Because the cops are tailing me.”
“Oh my God. Why?”
“I don’t know.”
No longer just flashing their lights but sounding their siren, the cop car rode the bumper of Lucas’s pickup even closer.
“I have to go.” With the press of a button he ended the call and tossed his cell phone onto the passenger seat beside him.
He pulled over to the side of the road, then cut his engine before rolling down his window. With his gaze focused on the small mirror that was mounted on the driver’s side door, Lucas tensely sat, watching as the policeman approached his car.
* * * *
After reading for two hours straight, Claudia was halfway into her true crime book, and just two sentences shy of finishing a particularly engrossing chapter. The knock on her bedroom door was what broke her concentration, and with an annoyed sigh, she set her book aside and uttered her consent for Mona to enter her room.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and after closing it behind her, Mona began to pace leisurely around the room.
“Hey, how are things?”
“Well considering that I’m grounded, not great.”
Still walking slowly about Claudia’s bedroom, Mona checked out the movie posters that adorned her walls, and then the antique vanity table which held a variety of makeup and skincare products. Her eyes then shifted to a Burda sewing handbook, and after flipping through the pages, she finally sat down next to Claudia on the bed.
“We need to talk, sugar plum.”
Sensing that it was about something fairly important, Claudia waited for her mother to continue.
“Now that you’re beginning to, uh – spend time with boys… “
An almost painful look crossed Claudia’s face as she realized where the conversation was heading. “Look, mom. I know that Kimi and I snuck out last night, but I didn’t do what you think I did.”
“I’m not accusing you of having sex,” Mona said. “But this is still information that you need to hear.”
“I already know about STD’s and that It’s important to use protection. You told me all of this when I was twelve.”
“Yes, I know. And I’m not rehashing that conversation,” Mona said. “This is about birth control.”
“I don’t need birth control. I’m not having sex.”
“But eventually you will, and I want you to be prepared when the time comes.” She reached into the pocket of her floral print robe, retrieved a couple of pamphlets, and passed them to Claudia so that she could check them out.
“I know It’s kind of a lot to look through all at once, so take your time,” Mona said. “But you’ll notice that there are eleven different types of birth control.”
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