First Kiss (Heavy Influence) (29 page)

             
I sat staring at the same Beatles and John Lennon artwork for a half hour, wondering what it would have been like to be them. If it could happen for them, it could happen for us right? I thought about his murder and what a waste it all was. I wondered if he would have said it was all worth it.

I decided to go get Aly.

              Taking the phone out of my pocket I dialed Aly’s number, after a couple of rings her sweet voice touched my ear.

             
“Hey Alycat, um, I was thinking since it looks like we’re gonna be here for a while, and instead of waiting until later.” I paused. “You think you could sneak out and come to the studio? I’ll come and get you right now.”

             
“My mom and dad are home now. I mean I guess I could lie, but aren’t you like in Hollywood?”

             
“Yeah, but it’ll only take me a half hour or so to get there.”

             
“Huh, ok, well, you can’t come here to get me,” she warned, laughing slightly.

             
“Duh, I know that. Can you go to Nicole’s?”

             
“Yeah, call me when you’re around the corner and I’ll walk over, but I don’t want to go in….so just meet me down the street from her house.”

             
“Cool, see you soon.”

             
“Ok.”

             
I was hopped up as I walked out the front doors of the studio. Rachel straightened her posture and Mike stood up, approaching me. “Hey man, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go off on you like that. I just got all this pent up shit inside me.”

Mike looked and sounded sincere. It was tough for him to look me in the eyes when he spoke. He played with the pack of Marlboro red box cigarettes held in his hand. Rachel silently coaxed me to respond.

              “Man, Mike, it’s just tough, you know your moodiness. It’s like we’re oil and water.” I offered, totally meaning it, trying to be fair.

             
“Yeah, I know. This whole direction man, it’s just different.”

             
“Look, I didn’t mean what I said about you quitting. I don’t want you to quit, if that helps any.”

             
He finally looked at me, nodding his head. His bloodshot, glossed over eyes unreadable.

             
“Cool. I’m in.”

             
“Cool, I,” I said hesitating. “I’m going to get Aly.”

             
A gust of warm air whipped up the fallen, dried leaves, swirling them around my feet. My eyes first went to Mike. His expression lit up ever so slightly then faded back into his hooded eyes. I was afraid to look at Rachel, when her voice broke the silence.

             
“I guess that means I should leave,” Rachel offered, disappointment rising in her voice.

             
“You’re more than welcomed to stay, but it’s up to you,” I replied.

             
I glanced back and forth between them, neither attempted to say another word.

***

The excitement I was feeling was intense. I couldn’t wait for Aly to sit in the sound room, for her to hear one of the songs, inspired by her, to see the look on her face. I wonder if she would get it. Driving down La Cienega Boulevard, I was agonized by the traffic and also knowing that once my mother found out I had left the studio, she would rip me a new one.

             
I felt drunk.
Drunk love
, was that what I was high on? Was I in love? Was this what being in love felt like? I was almost certain it was.

29

Jake

I spotted Aly as I drove up our street and signaled to her that I’d turn around. Driving slowly back down I didn’t see her on either side. I slowed, looking around. She was standing in Marshall’s driveway. What the hell was wrong with him? I thought. I pulled up checking out his patterned t-shirt and tight white skinny jeans. He had his hair flared out a la 80’s band Flock of Seagulls, accentuated with a hot pink leopard fabric headband. He was definitely wearing make-up. It took everything inside me not to ask him if he looked in the mirror before going out in public. I thought better of it because of Aly, but I seriously didn’t get it. 

I waited patiently while they talked a more few minutes, but I couldn’t keep waiti
ng. “Hey Aly, I gotta get going,” I shouted and waved at Marshall.

Aly thoughtfully stared at Marshall a moment longer and the breeze whipped her hair around her face. Everything slowed down as I focused on her plump, naturally pink lips. I loved that she didn’t wear lipstick.
Loved it
. Her tan legs carried her towards me. Her strut flowed with an ease of a feline…Alycat. The thought of the nickname I gave her made me smile. I wondered if she thought it was corny.

She opened the passenger side door and tossed her shiny silver metallic bag onto my not so clean floor mat. The bluster of wind stirred a new, unfamiliar fragrance into the cab, a clean citrus scent. Aly slammed the door shut and a smile spread across her face.
I wanted to kiss her, but I refrained from reacting. A bit of self-consciousness came over me.

Why
does that keep happening?

Marshall stared at us in earnest, smiling. I smiled back and waved goodbye.
Poor kid, maybe he didn’t have a choice whether to be gay or not
and
he seemed not to mind it, being perfectly aware of who he was. Huh, I couldn’t say I knew who I was anymore, that was for sure.

Driving down the road I couldn’t stop glancing at her, it had been days since we were near each other. I felt that rush of energy Aly always spoke of, a live, invisible wire. I couldn’t take it anymore and pulled over before we reached the light going out to the main road.

“What’s up, why are you pulling over,” she asked, as we came to a stop.

Without answering her, I leaned over bringing her face closer to mine. She didn’t fight me and she moved in quicker than I expected. She grabbed both sides of my face. Taking her lips to mine, I felt a frenzy overcome me. I was engulfed by a powerful surge. The way she smelled, the way she tasted, the softness of her lips, her tongue and her skin were spinning me out of control. She was equally aggressive, completely inebriating me. I backed my seat up and pulled her over onto my lap. She felt my excitement and a gasp escaped her.

“Am I hurting you?” She whispered, heavily.

“No.” I couldn’t help but moan.

Her black eye liner had started to smudge under her eyes from the heat we were generating. Our chests heaved in unison and her warm sweat breath flashed over my face.

“Aly, this is what you do to me.” I admitted, brushing her hair away from her cheek and she started to kiss me again. 

A car horn startled us.

“Shit, who is it?” She said, burying her head into my neck.

Hoots and hollers followed and the honking persisted from an unfamiliar beat-up Jeep Cherokee. We realized it was Chris and Nadine.

“Get a room you two!” Nadine shouted over Chris, who was in the driver’s seat.

Aly shouted back. “You scared the shit out of me!”

“Ha, that’s what you get for sucking face right where your parents could drive by!”

“Later,” Chris hollered and sped away.

“Aly call me first chance!” Nadine shouted with her voice fading away with every word.

I didn’t want to go back to the studio. I wrapped my arms around her burying my face in her hair again and filling my lungs with her.

The heat of the day didn’t have anything on what we were conducting in my truck. We were consumed by each other. We crossed the line into unquestionable desire. I wondered how long it would be until we were satisfied. The pressure was building at a dizzying pace when another disturbance knocked me to my senses.

My mother’s name flashed on the screen of my phone.

“Shit, it’s my mom, we need to go.” I planted one last kiss on her swollen lips and she moved back to her seat, buckling herself in.

“Are you in trouble?” Her brow furrowed with worry.

“Yeah, you co
uld say that.” I laughed it off. “We should have been back by now.”

I reached over blasting the air-conditioning as high as it would go to cool us off. I grabbed my groin hoping the sticky wetness wouldn’t show through my pants when I got out of the car. That’s just what I needed, was for my mom to see a nice jiz stain on my pants walking through the door with Aly. Thank god for black denim.

I was too afraid to answer my phone. I just wanted to get back there, take care of my shit and leave.

We finally arrived, and t
hankfully Rachel and Mike weren’t outside. My eyes darted to where Rachel’s car was parked and it was still there, unfortunately.

“I have to tell you something and I don’t want you freaking out, ok?” I looked at Aly picking up her hand. “Rachel is kinda back in the picture.”

“What? What does that mean?” She snatched her had away from mine. “What the hell, Jake? That bitch pushed me in the pool and totally has it out for me!”

“Wait, look, whatever happened between you two, I’m sure she feels bad. You know she apologized to me.”

“So the fuck what, Jake, she’s just kissing your ass.” She pouted looking out the window. “Whatever, Jake. I guess I’ll just have to deal with it.”

“She’s here, that’s why I’m telling you. I didn’t want you to walk in and be surprised. I was actually h
oping she’d leave while I was gone. I told her I was going to get you.”

“Are you kidding me?” She shouted at me. “I’m not going in there then. You’re out
of your mind, you know that?” she said, bewildered.

“Aly, please, come on. Don’t do this. She’s been hanging out with Mike, let’s just see where it goes. I have no problem telling her to scram if she starts acting lame.”

“Put yourself in my shoes,” she said, unbuckling her seatbelt. “Change places with me. Say I had some guy I just fucked once, who totally had it out for you, hanging out at my house?
After
he completely humiliated you in front of the entire school. How would you feel?”

“I get it, Aly, but she’s Sienna’s best friend. Is she supposed to make new friends because we decided not to hang out anymore? We have to move on and just get over it
, Aly. Let’s just see how it goes.”

“I’ll walk home from here, Jake, if I feel uncomfortable.”

Now she was being unreasonable. “We’ll both leave if it get’s weird, I promise.”

Walking into the studio the first person I saw was my mother pacing back and forth with her cell phone pressed to her head. Great. I tried not to make eye contact. I held Aly’s hand dragging her along as quickly as possible toward the sound room. I could see Mike in the booth.

“Jake Michael Masters!” my mother shouted. My hair stood up and my heart came out of my throat.

“Brace yourself,
” I warned Aly.

My mother came tearing around the corner. “Where have you been?”

“Mom, aren’t you going to say hello to Aly,” I said dryly.

Aly stepped
back behind me, afraid of my mom’s wrath.

“Aly, I’m sorry you have to witness this ass chewing. But since Jake has made the decision to include you in his bands
happenings, this is part of it. And since Jake seems to be completely blind as to the impact his choices are having on our bottom line, well, I need to be the one to point them out.”

I thought the veins
in her forehead would explode. Notting walked out of the sound booth saying goodbye to Rachel and I felt Aly stiffen beside me. Rachel’s face said it all, too. Neither of them was ready to be in the same room with each other. They were like two cats ready to pounce on each other. Rachel turned to Notting, hugging him, and quickly said goodbye to me without, making eye contact or acknowledging Aly.

My mother picked up on this like
a metal detector would a gold watch buried in the sand. She shot me a look of contempt, and I wanted to crawl under the chair sitting next to me. Why was everything getting so complicated? All I wanted was to be with Aly and play music with my bros, and everything seemed as if it was falling apart.

As soon as Rachel left, my
mother looked at me and Notting, demanding an explanation. “What the hell is going on?” she wailed. “Aly I’m sorry, but Jake and Notting have some explaining to do.”

“Darling, calm
down, there is nothing going on,” Notting reassured.

“Don’t p
atronize me, Notting.” She crossed her arms to her chest and turned to me. “As for you Mr. Masters, I know I’m your mother and there are things, personal things,” she said, pausing to look at Aly. “That you’d rather not have me know too much about, but when these things start to have an impact on others and important decisions, I think you’d better make sound choices.”

Now it was my turn to have an aneurism. She had no idea how important Aly was to me.