Tangled Web (6 page)

Katie was attending a party where the band
was playing, and Johnny had not one or two but three adoring girls
surrounding him after they finished. He had his tongue in one of
their mouths before Katie could even congratulate him on a good
show. She should have been used to it, but it was unexpected. To
save face, she rubbed her eyes, ready to feign fatigue and go home,
where she would cry herself to sleep as she had been at least two
nights a week since the band went public. The friend side of her
accepted Johnny and his new “lifestyle,” but the part that was
falling in love with him just couldn’t take it.

Katie stood alone by the drum kit
considering how to make a graceful, inconspicuous exit when Riley
sauntered up to her, leaving two whisper-thin girls pouting behind
him. He lowered his eyeglasses down the bridge of his nose to look
at Katie eye to eye. He draped his arm around her shoulders, and
she just let him. “So how’s it goin’, Katie?” His voice was almost
raspy sounding, as though he had screamed into the mike for too
long tonight.

She liked the feel of his arm. It was warm,
weighty, and meaningful. But she was still looking over at Johnny
who was walking away with his harem in tow, one of his hands
squeezing the Asian girl’s buns. She steeled herself, willed back a
burning tear and forced herself to look Riley in the eye. Her voice
was low. “Good. How about you?”

“Better now, I think.” He pushed the
unnecessary sunglasses back up his nose, fully masking his eyes. He
moved his lips to her ear. “I have something a little better than
birthday punch in my car if you feel like checking it out.”

Katie allowed herself the opportunity to
look Johnny’s way one more time. He was sitting on a couch,
literally buried under the three girls. She could only tell that he
was there because of the pair of red Converse on his feet. She
couldn’t bear to look anymore. She looked back to Riley. “Yeah, I’m
game.”

Katie had always been a good girl. She’d had
no reason not to be. She got along with her parents and had never
felt a need to rebel. She had never been to many wild parties, had
always hung out with Johnny and his friends, and had been
protected. But her heart stung tonight, and she thought being a
little bad might be what she needed. She wasn’t sure what was in
Riley’s car, but she knew it wasn’t something he wanted to share
with an entire crowd. And she didn’t care.

“That’s the spirit.” As they wound their way
through the crowd, Riley interlaced his warm fingers through hers
as though leading her through an impossible maze until they hit the
cool night air. Her hand in his felt nice, reassuring. It was what
she needed right now. Outside, away from the stuffy, sweaty
basement room, it smelled like plum blossoms and felt new and
fresh. Katie drew in a deep breath as the air hit her cheeks. A
small tear escaped, but she doubted Riley would notice. They walked
a few doors down from the house that was packed with vehicles until
they reached Riley’s car. He opened the passenger door of his blue
Mustang for Katie and then walked over to the other side. He
reached under the driver’s seat and pulled out a bottle. “Want some
JD?” Katie supposed he’d managed to talk one of the bars where he’d
played into giving him a bottle. He was the frontman and got crazy
amounts of attention--Katie had seen that--and even grown adults
threw themselves all over him. It was crazy. But it was what it
was.

“Sure.” Katie shrugged, as though she had a
shot every day with lunch. He opened the bottle and took a sip,
then handed it to her. She let the tiniest trickle into her mouth,
and as it flowed into her throat, she closed her eyes and lay her
head back against the headrest.

“Good stuff, huh?” Riley screwed the lid
back on and didn’t waste any time leaning over to kiss Katie. She’d
never really been kissed before, at least not on the mouth, and she
was surprised at her body’s rapid response. Riley’s tongue was
inside her mouth before she could take her first breath, and his
hands gently urged her face towards his. Katie felt her whole body
tremble, but Riley didn’t notice. Her nipples hardened and as he
continued kissing her, she felt her panties grow wet. Her arms
wrapped around his head too, and for the moment she forgot about
Johnny What’s-His-Name.

But she remembered as soon as Riley’s hand
started working its way up her t-shirt. She pulled away. “Whoa,
whoa.”

Riley smiled that rock-star smile of his,
his sleepy eyes seeming to sparkle in the dark. The only light in
the car came from a street light halfway down the block, but it was
enough. “Moving a little too fast for you?” Katie nodded. He
grabbed the bottle up from the floor. “Here. Have another
drink.”

Katie shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
She looked down at her hands. “I’m sorry.”

“No. No problem.” She was shocked. Maybe she
had misjudged Riley because he always acted very cool. But maybe it
was only an act. He took another swig from the bottle and put the
cap back on. “Do you want me to give you a ride home?”

She nodded her head. “Yeah. Is that
okay?”

He nodded and slid the keys in the ignition.
The engine revved at his touch, and the radio began blaring. Katie
grabbed the seat belt and snapped the buckle into place. Well, that
was the end of that, she supposed. So she got kissed by Riley once,
had actually been excited by that kiss, and he was already
disinterested. But she’d misunderstood. Once they were on the road,
he turned the radio down. “Do you wanna go out with me?”

Katie looked over at him. “You mean like out
on a date or go out go out?”

He smiled. “Both.”

She liked his confidence. She found it
stimulating and attractive. She looked over at him, her new
boyfriend (what a concept), and took him in. He had
brownish-reddish shaggy longish hair, and underneath his ridiculous
aviator glasses, his eyes were a deep, dark brown. He had a slight
smattering of freckles on his cheeks and a strong jaw. He had wide
shoulders and she knew he worked out several days a week. It showed
on his chest (which she had only seen bare onstage). And he was all
of a sudden after a mere ten minutes of conversation not a
two-dimensional character anymore. He was real. And he was sweet.
How many girls in the school would hate her guts tomorrow if she
walked in the school holding his hand? More importantly, though,
how would Johnny feel? “Yeah. I think so.” She saw him smile. “Does
that...?” She felt embarrassed, and her voice drifted off.

“What, Katie?

“Does that make you my boyfriend?”

“Yeah. I think it does.”

When he dropped her off, he kissed her in
the car, then walked her to the door and asked her if he could pick
her up before school tomorrow. She agreed. And the best part? She
knew most of the time Johnny rode into school with Riley.

* * *

As Riley’s girlfriend, Katie never missed a
show, and she always sat front row. Johnny didn’t seem to care
much, but Katie had begun to feel some genuine affection for Riley.
They began spending more and more time together, and Riley even put
off a few practices to spend time with her. She thought that Riley
found in her the same thing she found in him--someone to
commiserate with. They both were mourning the loss of their friend
Johnny, who was physically present but rarely there. For now,
Johnny’s head was full of “baggable chicks” and dreams of the
future, which left little room or time for friends.

Their relationship grew hotter and heavier,
but Katie was a virgin, and the thought of having sex made her
nervous but excited. She didn’t tell him why she didn’t want to
have sex; she simply told him she wasn’t ready. She didn’t know
that she was prepared to go that far yet, but Riley began putting
on the pressure. Katie finally caved and gave him a rather inexpert
blow job, but he didn’t seem to mind the lack of training. Still,
he continued to beg. She let him go a little further each time but
wasn’t ready for the big deed.

One night she was over in the Schultz’s
garage watching the band practice. Johnny didn’t like having her
there and never said so to her face, but he didn’t have much of a
choice. She still held a candle for him, but she tried to ignore
him as best she could. When the band was finishing up, Katie
continued to sit on a stool in a corner of the garage, waiting for
them to finish up. As Johnny, Norberg, and Trent put their guitars
back in their cases, she overhead Johnny telling them that he was
taking Lisa Coffey to the prom. Katie felt her stomach flip. Lisa
was a varsity cheerleader, which meant that now Johnny and the boys
were “legit.” They weren’t just a passing fad but were viewed as
being as cool as jocks. More than that, though, Katie disliked most
of the cheerleaders on principle alone. There were one or two she
got along with, but as a group, she disliked them, because they
made their ways through life on looks alone. But it was that
moment, hearing that Johnny was taking a cheerleader to prom, that
helped her make a decision.

Riley looked over at her through his sleepy
brown eyes and smiled, then walked over and wrapped his arms around
her waist. She kissed him but waited until everyone else had left
to tell him what she had planned.

He sat on another stool next to her, their
knees touching. Katie felt shy and quiet but wanted to say what was
on her mind before she lost her nerve. “So what is it?” Riley
asked.

“You know how you keep telling me you want
to have sex?”

“It’s only because I love you, Katie.”

She didn’t buy the “love” thing for a
second, but no matter. “Well, I think I’m ready.” Riley’s eyes grew
large. “I want to do it after prom.”

He nodded his head. She saw his Adam’s apple
move underneath his hemp choker as he swallowed. “Yeah. Whenever
you’re ready.”

“But two things.”

“Name ‘em.”

She looked down at her lap, feeling
embarrassed. “I’m a virgin.”

Riley was quiet and so she finally looked up
at him. His face was frozen in near disbelief. He almost whispered,
“That explains it.” Then, louder, he asked, “You fuckin’
serious?”

She nodded her head. “Yeah.”

“How does that happen?”

Katie almost giggled. “It’s pretty easy,
actually.”

Riley’s face broke into a smile. “Waiting
for the right guy?”

“Yeah, I think you could say that.” She
hadn’t considered Riley the right guy before, but he was right
enough now. “So, anyway, the second thing... I’m not on any kind of
birth control, and I don’t know that I could get it arranged in
time. Can you...?”

Riley’s smile widened. “Already have that
one covered. Anything else?”

“Actually, yeah. I’m really nervous…scared.
When we do, just be gentle, okay?”

“Of course, yeah. God, you’re an endangered
species. I promise to take good care of you.” He wrapped his arms
around her, and Katie was glad she’d made her decision. Let Johnny
screw his cheerleader if that was what he wanted.

And prom arrived quickly. Katie’s mom and
dad fawned over her (their wallflower daughter was
finally
going on a date with a
real
boyfriend) and spent lots of
money on the whole event. Norberg’s girlfriend Meg had told Katie
two weeks before that groups of them partied after prom and some of
them got hotel rooms, and she didn’t know how the guys handled it,
but the girls allied with one another. So Katie colluded with Meg,
and both of them told their parents they were spending the night
with the other. Katie hated lying to her parents. She never had
before, so she felt guilty doing it now. But she wanted to be alone
with Riley, wanted to experience becoming a woman.

Prom itself was a memorable night full of
shadows and glitter, mediocre pop songs and aching feet. Riley
looked dashing in his black and white tux, and Spawn of Satan
played three songs to the frenzied upperclassmen and their dates.
Not that the meaning of the song meant much, but Riley actually
dedicated one of their songs to his “girlfriend Katie.” Their show
was a little more low-key than usual but they were incredible. And
when the dance was all over and the band members were packing away
their gear afterward, they all passed around a bottle of this and
that, hiding bottles in guitar cases, ducking between vehicles to
take a sip. Johnny told Riley where the party was. Riley nodded,
and Katie thought maybe he’d changed his mind about their evening
alone.

But he hadn’t. Instead of going to the
party, he drove to a discount hotel, walked in and paid cash, and
came back out with a key. He drove around back to find the room,
and when they got there, both of them retrieved their bags of
“stuff.” Katie had packed as though she were spending the night
with Meg--toothbrush, toiletries, makeup, pjs, a change of clothes.
Riley had packed various items that rattled around in a backpack.
Katie had heard stories about these kinds of places, but when they
went in the room, she realized it wasn’t as bad as she’d expected.
Aside from a thin, faded comforter on the bed, everything else in
the room seemed newer and--more importantly--clean. She took a deep
breath and set her bag on the table just inside the door.

Riley said, “Just relax. I’m going to unpack
a few things.” Katie made her way to the restroom and, after
drinking a cup of water, removed her jewelry and also let her soft
brown hair down. It had been in a delicate updo that her mom had
spent half an hour on, wispy thin curls framing her pale face. She
admired the gown that hugged her body--a blue-grey floor-length
halter dress. She felt elegant, pretty, and a little tired. She and
Riley had been on the floor a lot that night, mostly during the
slow dances, and he’d spent most of that time kissing her. Just
once she’d managed to rest her head on his shoulder and glance
around the room, only to find Johnny looking their way. It had
almost made her change her mind. She’d decided then that if he
asked her to dance, she
would
change her mind. But he
didn’t. Probably because Lisa wouldn’t let him out of her
sight.