The Game Has Changed (9 page)

“Jaime?” he whispered, full of unexpected worry
for her.

“Hmm?” she mumbled with pleasure.

He stopped himself short. He couldn't get
himself to tell her, “Please don't fall in love with me.” He knew
it would burst her bubble. Yet he would have to tell her eventually
that he couldn't make a commitment to her. Not only was it
literally impossible for him to do so because of his lifestyle, but
it was highly likely he would be locked away for a very long
time.

Jaime lifted her head a moment, waiting for him
to continue. A slight furrow marred her forehead as she realized he
wasn’t that forthcoming.

He smiled at her. “Nothing,” he decided with a
shrug. “Go to sleep now.” He closed his eyes and feigned sleep,
hoping that she would soon do the same.

CHAPTER 9

The next morning, Evan stood in the doorway of
the bathroom as Jaime took a shower. He was having more and more
trouble coming to terms with his overwhelming desire for her. He
rested his head against the door molding and grasped it between
both of his hands as he took deep, even breaths. He couldn’t keep
himself from staring at her silhouette through the shower curtain
and soon found that he had to tame his beast with his own hand as
he stood there waiting.

To his mortification, Jaime unexpectedly
appeared before him wrapped in a towel, her hair dripping wet. She
had caught him with his hand in the cookie jar. There was no way
she couldn't have seen what he’d been doing when he slipped his
hand quickly out of his trousers.

He straightened, his breathing labored and
nervous sweat stinging his eyes. She stood there looking at him,
curiosity and wonder written across her face. Her wet appearance
disturbed him all the more. They stared at each other for a long
moment before he disappeared into the bedroom without a backward
glance.

***

Jaime stood quietly shivering in the bathroom.
Her clothes were in the bedroom, but she felt timid now, almost
embarrassed about going to fetch them. She was well aware of what
he had been doing. Though she hadn't really seen anything, there
was only one reason he would have had his hand shoved down his
trousers. It had been mentioned in sex education class and she
vividly remembered the snickering it had elicited from her
classmates. At the time, she’d had no clue. Now, she
knew.

There was no way she could stand there in the
bathroom with only a towel on for very long. She needed to get her
clothes; the sooner, the better. After several minutes passed, she
took a deep breath, almost as if she was going to take a dunk
underwater, and walked into the bedroom.

To her surprise, Evan wasn't there. She
approached the front window and stared out of it to find that he
was having a smoke. Unlike the night before, he was nervously
pacing and puffing on the cigarette continuously.

Jaime knew he was embarrassed by what she had
seen, but she was amazed that she didn't want him to be. After
dressing again, she exited their motel room.

Evan’s heart leapt as he saw her standing in
front of the door. He sighed and dropped his cigarette, stepping on
it to put it out. “I'm sorry,” he said ever so softly.

Jaime shrugged shyly and smiled. “It's quite
alright,” she replied, then boldly took the reins of their day’s
agenda. “Shall we go have breakfast?”

He managed a relieved smile. “Yeah, but how
‘bout something better than McDonald's?” he suggested, grasping her
upper arm to lead her back into the room.

“But I like McDonald's!” She pouted playfully
and then giggled as she followed him inside.

The drive that morning was a tad more
comfortable for the both of them. Something special had happened
between them, an understanding that neither could really explain.
It was just there. Though they were still really strangers, it was
as if they were now, in some way, familiar strangers.

CHAPTER 10

Somewhere just across the Indiana border, they
stopped at a mini-mart late that afternoon. Evan needed to fill the
car with gas and Jaime wanted to make use of the
restroom.

Before either of them got out of the car, Evan
turned toward her and said very softly, “Don't take too long, okay,
Luv?” It was his way of saying, “I'll trust you to go alone this
time,” without saying it in so many words. It was the first time he
was letting her out of his sight.

Jaime was amazed, never-the-less. He finally
trusted her. She felt proud and was glad, too, that he put it the
way he had. His words weren’t patronizing to her, in the least. It
was respectful to her. She smiled sweetly at him and nodded her
thanks. She then climbed out of the car.

Upon entering the market, the first thing Jaime
noticed was four teenage boys, probably close to her age, tucked
into a corner of the store and being rowdy and noisy like teenage
boys always were when they got together. Ominously, they clammed up
upon noting her arrival. This unnerved her immediately as they were
not even trying to hide the fact that all four of them were gawking
at her. It literally sent chills down her spine.

She quickly approached the counter where she
found an older woman standing behind it, writing on a pad of paper.
“Ex – excuse me,” Jaime stuttered, causing her to look up. “Can you
tell me where the restroom is, please?” She purposefully whispered
the last part of her request, hoping that the boys had not
heard.

Her discretion went unnoticed by the lady. The
gum-chewing woman's voice was loud and abrasive. “It's in the back
alley, Honey. Here's the key.” She handed Jaime a key attached to a
huge wooden block.

Jaime sped out of the store as fast as she
could to look for the bathroom. She saw Evan pumping the gas and
she motioned to him. “It's in the back!” she called to him, wanting
him to know where she was.

He nodded in response and blew her a kiss. She
was now quite sure that she was in love.
Now, to get this over with as soon as possible,
she thought.

The Ladies’ room was tucked all the way in the
back of the alley. A dark and ominous shadow loomed above her even
in broad daylight. She tried not to think about anything except
getting her business done as quickly as possible as she rushed
inside and locked the door behind her.

She fumbled in the dark for the light switch
and couldn't find it, at first. Flicking the switch up once she
finally found it did nothing to alter the looming darkness inside.
The bulb must not have been changed in years. She didn't want to
even think about when the room had last been cleaned, either. After
finishing, she washed her hands. Of course, there was no soap or
towels, but that was a moot point by now. She reached for the door,
wanting nothing more than to get out of there.

Her worst fears were realized when she saw the
four teenage boys lounging outside the door waiting for her. When
she cried out and tried to shut the door again, one of the boys
quickly put his foot in the way and prevented her from closing it.
All four had soon forced their way into the dark bathroom, closing
the door behind them.

Jaime let out an earth-shattering scream,
hoping that Evan would hear it, but she knew the alley was much
longer than she’d expected. She was at the end of it now and the
heavy door was firmly closed.

One boy kept her from screaming further by
clamping his hand hard across her mouth. At the same time, he
pushed her violently up against the wall. Her first thought was
that once again, she was a captive, this time to a strange man. She
longed for Evan at that given moment. More than ever before, she
yearned for the first man whom had taken her captive.

“Hey, pretty little girl,” the boy holding her
against the wall said mockingly.

He was, it seemed, the leader of the pack. The
other boys laughed arrogantly and started to taunt her with rude
sexual words. They then began to poke at her and touch
her.

Helpless, she began to sob uncontrollably. The
boy’s hand across her mouth prevented her from crying out and she
could barely breathe because of it. She felt their hands all over
her, touching her in places she didn’t want to think about. She
couldn't see all of their faces, but their hands were now touching
her bare skin and it felt horrible.

The boy released her mouth long enough to pull
her tee shirt violently over her head. She took a deep breath to
fill her lungs, but she didn't have time to scream again. His hand
was back in place across her mouth within seconds.

The evil taunts, the hands all over her . . .
She felt as if she would faint at any moment, but knew that she
couldn't. She had to try and fight back. Yet with four strong
teenage boys holding onto her, it was highly unlikely. Soon, she
was pushed down onto the grimy floor of the bathroom, her shirt and
bra completely gone. Her blue jeans soon followed.

***

Evan walked down the alleyway wondering as to
why Jaime was taking so long. He really hadn't considered that she
would try to escape, but for a split second, he thought he had been
duped by her. He had definitely seen her come this way and as he
looked around, he noted that there was no other place for her to
go. It was a dead end.

When he got to the end of the alley and the
door of the Ladies' room, only then did he realize what was
happening. He could hear a faint struggling behind the door as well
as the resonance of lustful teenage boys. He could also hear Jaime
crying. An angry surge of adrenaline overwhelmed him completely.
Without hesitation, he tried the door in a panic, jiggling the
locked doorknob forcefully. His efforts were futile.

“Jaime!” he screamed at the top of his
lungs.

Jaime's heart raced upon hearing Evan's
powerful voice. Her eyes showed her tremendous relief as she lay
upon the floor.

“Who's he?” the leader demanded of her. He
sounded scared momentarily, but then his cockiness returned just as
quickly. “Your boyfriend? Tell him to wait his turn. He's probably
fucked you enough anyway!”

She heard Evan kicking and pounding
relentlessly at the door. She prayed silently that he would reach
her in time because time was running out. One of the boy's trousers
was down and she didn't want to lose her virginity to these
hooligans. She wanted Evan to be the one to take it from her
instead.

“Don't you touch her!” Evan screamed at the
exact moment she deliberated about her endangered
virginity.

His anger makes him sound so strong
and brave and wonderful!
she thought.

“Go away!” one of the other boys shouted back
at Evan as he held down one of her legs.

The lady inside of the shop ran out to see what
was going on at the sound of Evan’s screaming. “It's those boys
again, ain't it?” she asked Evan. “They been doing this before. I
thought they . . .”

“Do you have a key?” Evan interrupted her, his
voice full of anguish.

“I gave it to her!” she replied,
anxious.

“A master! You must have a master key!” Evan
looked and sounded so desperate. He was afraid for Jaime. So much
so, that the woman was touched.

“Yes, a master!” she cried, running back the
way she’d come.

As the woman hurried back to the shop, Evan
continued to pound his fists against the door as he screamed and
threatened the boys within. His knuckles were becoming bloodied and
his voice was hoarse.

“I'm gonna kill you!” he shouted. “You touch
her and I'll kill you!”

Jaime was comforted by the sound of Evan's
voice as well as his words and the desperation they contained.
Despite everything, it wasn't keeping the boy from doing what he
was about to attempt. She couldn't see, but she could definitely
feel something near her. She cried out for Evan when the boy’s hand
slipped momentarily and set her mouth free.

“Evan!” she shrilled. “Help me! Please, help
me!”

Evan’s heart filled with trepidation. He knew
that was a sign that things were taking a sordid turn. His anger
was bursting to overflowing and he didn't care that the skin of his
knuckles were raw as he pounded against the door even harder.
“Don't touch her!” he roared.

The main predator was now angry about the fact
that she’d cried for help. He struck her face violently. She cried
out with pain and fright, struggling to set herself free, but three
other boys held her down.

The woman appeared with the other key within
her hand. Handing it to Evan, she said, “I called the police,
too!”

Evan failed to hear her. The door flew inward
with such tremendous force that it knocked two of the boys holding
down Jaime's legs flat. They crumpled into a heap against the wall
nearby. With unexpected strength, Evan ripped the main attacker off
of Jaime and threw him against the farthest wall. He cried out with
pain as he hit the wall hard and collapsed to the floor.

The fourth boy ran at him from behind, but Evan
sent him flying over his head with ease where he fell on top of the
other boy. The other two boys scurried out the door while the boy
he’d flung over his head pulled himself to his feet and charged
once more, delivering a punch to Evan's nose that was accompanied
by an unpleasant cracking sound.