~***~
Scotty was propped up on his mattress, reading a book by some guy named Truman Capote. It was about death and murder and the rawness of the story is what he liked—more than the gruesomeness of the crime.
He thought fleetingly of Vanessa’s house. It was still hard as ever to find some peace in quiet in his house but school was out until the New Year and headphones worked pretty well for just reading. Instead of the radio being tuned to WCIN, the local soul station, Scotty was listening to Led Zeppelin; something that his brother despised—hence the headphones. Scotty liked metal. It sounded the way he felt most times. He thought that Kashmir by Zeppelin should be his theme song if people walked around with such things.
Tino poked his head into the room and Scotty lowered the headphones. He still hated Tino—but he didn’t like hating him. Tino was very happy with him and the amount of money he now brought home. These days he was nice and if one had to deal with Tino, this was the best way to do it.
“Come on. We’re going out.”
Scotty frowned. “Where?” It was nice and warm here and the book was getting good…
“It’s fucking New Year’s Eve! You’re not staying in. We got a party to go to, boy!”
He still wasn’t interested but was probably not going to be able to get out of it. “Can I bring G?”
Tino shrugged and stripped out of his jeans. “Yeah, he’s cool.”
Scotty jumped up in excitement. The two friends had planned to take turns firing a pistol while drinking beer around a bonfire at the abandoned apartments going up to Garden Hilltop. This would be a heluva lot warmer! He ran downstairs to call G while Tino showered. G said he was coming right over and Scotty told him to bring the beer with him.
After Tino left the shower Scotty got in and when he returned to the bedroom to dress he saw Tino sitting on the mattress wearing nothing but boxers and reading the Truman Capote book. His sleek dark curls hung around his shoulders dripping water and for a minute Scotty remembered that Tino, who had just turned seventeen, was still a kid.
“It’s a pretty good book.” Scotty commented.
Tino put it down. “Tell me what happens when you’re done with it.”
Scotty reached for a pair of jeans. “I already know what happens. The two guys get the death sentence and they’re both hanged.”
“Damn.”
Scotty shook his head. “They deserved it. They even killed the kids.”
Tino looked thoughtful. “That’s fucked up.” He jumped up and grabbed the jeans from Scotty. “Hey, don't wear those jeans, boy! This is New Year’s Eve. Grab those grey pants of mine. They’re too small for me. They should fit you pretty good.” Scotty grabbed Tino’s pants and they did fit nice. The boys were the same height; Tino was just beefier. The older boy made him wear a button down shirt that Scotty thought made him look like a flaming pimp but when Tino donned a similar one he looked pretty cool.
As Tino, Scotty and G left the apartment, Phonso puffed out his chest. “What about me? Can’t I go?”
Tino laughed. “Next year little man. I promise.” However that was a promise that he would be unable to keep.
Tino placed one arm around G’s shoulder, the other around Scotty’s as they headed down the street to Jay Dog’s house. “Tonight, you boys are getting laid.”
Now that he knew of his brother’s intent, Scotty was a nervous wreck. Every since that movie Roots aired, none of the girls he knew showed him the least bit of interest. And at school he was still the new kid. Besides sex was a distant thought that wasn’t as important as his day-to-day living.
They got to Jaydog’s house but only long enough to hop into his car so that they could head downtown. Downtown Cincinnati’s skywalk was crowded with people, drinking and acting wild. Music could be heard from portable stereos carried by men dressed in their outlandish finery, as well as from the opened door of a skating rink.
G whispered to Scotty. “I thought we were going to a house party. We can go skating any time.”
Scotty shrugged, thinking that losing his virginity was more important than a house party or skating. Tino had plenty of girls, but Tino also had the dark brooding good-looks of a Latin Lover…and Scotty didn’t. He was just a blue-eyed, blond haired kid that lived in in a predominately black neighborhood.
They bypassed the skates and then Scotty saw that the place was decked out like a disco. People were dancing on the rink and with the disco lights glowing it looked cool…despite the horrible disco music blaring from the speakers. A girl in a tight dress and impossibly high heels threw herself into Tino’s arms drunkenly. Tino kissed her and then walked away.
G gave Scotty a big grin.
They danced and had free food and hung out with some of the guys who slipped them liquor. Girls that they didn’t know danced with them and though Scotty didn’t particularly like the idea of a disco, this was a good time; at least until he saw Tino kissing all over his girlfriend. He hadn’t seen De-Aydra around in a while and he had assumed that she had been replaced. But he now saw that her stomach was swollen and she was very obviously pregnant.
Scotty looked away, disturbed at the idea that his brother hadn’t gotten that girl pregnant. A few minutes later, Tino was hanging all over another girl and his tongue was half way down her throat. Scotty scanned the crowd and saw De-Aydra watching Tino with tears in her eyes. She turned away and rushed out of the building.
Scotty quickly excused himself from his dance partner and followed the girl, catching up with her as she tugged on a coat that barely covered her swollen stomach.
“De-Aydra,” he said and she looked at him and then quickly swiped the tears from her cheeks. She was beautiful, deep brown skin, big black curls that hung down to her shoulders, and golden brown eyes. “Hey, you’re leaving?”
“Hi Scotty.” She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’m leaving. I don’t think I’m wanted here.” Her voice hitched but she tried to keep the tears from falling.
“You’re going to have a baby.”
She rolled her eyes again. “Yeah. Tino said he’d be here for me but…he never comes around anymore. Now he’s disrespecting me with other bitches. So, I guess I’m just out of the picture.” Tears slipped down her face as she buttoned her coat with shaky hands.
Scotty watched her leave. He bummed a cigarette and stood there for a while. Yeah. He didn’t want any kids, not even one. No one was taking care of the kids that were already here.
They all left the skating rink before midnight and ended up at the house party that Garry had been anticipating. Tino pushed a big-bootied black girl at him, and a light skinned beauty at G.
“Go have fun boys. Bring in the New Years with a…bang,” Tino laughed while he hugged up on a different girl.
Garry’s eyes were alight with anticipation. He leaned in to whisper to Tino. “You got any rubbers?”
“Nah little man. Don’t worry about it.” G grinned and then walked off with the girl.
Scotty’s girl began kissing all over his neck and face. He tried very hard to get into it but when she pulled him into a closet and began feeling him up, he removed her hands and said he’d drank too much and was going to puke, which wasn’t much of a lie.
He would regret it later he was sure, but Scotty decided right then in there that he didn’t want to leave any little bit of himself in any woman that he didn’t love.
Chapter 15
~Summer 1978~
Jalissa hated her—or at least she acted like she did. If Vanessa could change places with her she would. She said, “There is nothing fun about having a period.” The first two days when it happened her stomach ached and her breasts felt like someone had punched her in them.
Now she couldn’t hide the fact that she had breasts so her mother took her to get a bunch of bras and told her that she had to wear them all of the time even though they were uncomfortable. She also had to get new jeans because either her bootie or her hips had gotten bigger.
Se
cretly, though, Vanessa was in awe at what she saw in the mirror when she stripped off her clothes. No, she didn’t look like the nude women that she saw at the movies. But her body swelled softly in places where she had never had curves before. Her face also changed. Her chin seemed more pointed and more angular lines now replaced the roundness that she was accustomed to.
She was also continuing to grow and was nearly as tall as her mother. She wanted to ask her if her Daddy was tall but they never brought up Juan Carlos or her mother’s second job. In a sense they pretended that her mother still worked at a bar named Rockets.
Jalissa still preferred having sleepovers at Vanessa’s house, which hadn’t changed just because it was summer break. The girls put on shorts and headed down the hill to the corner store for pickles and sunflower seeds.
“Stop switching like that!” Vanessa complained. Her cousin was swinging her hips from side to side just because she had a big bootie and it was drawing too much attention. Pretty soon some of the bad boys in the neighborhood would come up on them and they would be relentless. It scared Vanessa. She liked boys but not aggression. Sometimes it wasn’t just boys that talked mass crap to them but guys that were nearly grown men!
“Haha,” her cousin laughed. “Stop acting like you don’t want those boys looking.” Jalissa’s short hair was in cute braids and she wore gold looped earrings. Her t-shirt was tight but it did indeed show off her little curves. She was cute while Vanessa felt tall and gawky next to her. However anybody looking at the cousins saw two very different but very cute girls.
~***~
“Check that out…” G lifted his sunglasses and stared across the street. Scotty followed where his friend was staring and stopped walking. Vanessa and her cousin were heading out of the corner store and for a moment Scotty was unsure if it was even her. The last time he’d seen her she was wearing two long pigtails and her gangly form was hidden beneath sweatshirts and jeans.
Today she wore shorts that had probably fit her well last year—but not this year, however her loose fitting blouse didn’t cling to her like her cousin’s shirt did, and the thin billowy fabric enhanced her soft curves—curves that he had never even imagined she possessed.
He’d thought about her over the last few months—mostly thoughts about the loss of calmness in his life. He supposed that he connected Vanessa with that peace that he could no longer find. There had been a time when he thought Walnut Hills High School would give him a place that he felt he could belong. But not any longer. The only friends he had at school were the druggies, and the people that he actually liked thought he was a waste of space. There were times when he would have to agree with them. He wasn’t a druggy but because of his reputation for dealing in drugs that’s all people saw.
“Damn…” G said and whistled. Scotty, who was bouncing a basketball, lost in his own thoughts nearly allowed the ball to get away at the way his buddy was looking at the girls. He frowned a G, silently warning him that the two girls were off limits. He knew what his friend did with girls—something he himself had yet to do. And it bothered him that G’s eyes were on Vanessa and thinking of her in that way.
G laughed at Scotty’s expression. “Easy, young blood. I’m just enjoying the wrapper. I actually like my women to be...well—not kids.”
“You had me scared there for a minute.” Scotty said while studying Vanessa. Had she gotten taller? “I figured your dating pool was no longer elementary school.”
“We aren’t the only ones looking,” G said, the playfulness leaving his voice. Scotty broke his gaze on Vanessa enough to take in their surroundings. Three teens had turned from the direction in which they were walking and were now following the girls—three much older teens.
The boys began calling out to the girls and Scotty saw that Vanessa’s cousin was eating up the attention. However, Vanessa looked very uncomfortable. As she should, he thought. What in the hell was she thinking coming down to Winton Terrace dressed like that? One very aggressive boy kept asking Vanessa for her phone number and the girl shyly shook her head no even though he kept asking like a broken record.
As the girls continued to walk, ignoring the calls of the boys, Scotty’s eyes suddenly narrowed when he saw the more aggressive teen pantomime touching her butt. Vanessa jumped out of his reach eliciting laughter from the teen’s two friends who were now also becoming more aggressive. Even Jalissa now looked uncomfortable at the attention.
“Hell no!” Scotty tucked the ball against his hip and stormed across the street.
Vanessa didn’t even notice Scotty’s approach. Three older boys were following them and hollering out—what they considered to be compliments, but the attention scared Vanessa. Jalissa kept switching and looking over her shoulders, hoping the boys were looking at her while Vanessa hoped they would leave them alone. But when the boys began trying to touch their butts and boobs even Jalissa got scared. She wanted to tell her cousin; See what you started?!
Suddenly she saw Scotty and another boy crossing the street and relief filled her as they approached. Even though Scotty and his friend were outnumbered she knew that Scotty wouldn’t back down. She knew this without a shred of a doubt.
“Vanessa.” Scotty said. But he was looking at the three teens trailing the girls. They were older than even him. It annoyed him when he saw ‘predators’ like the sharped dressed teens trying to get the attention of girls that were obviously of an illegal age.
“Who’s this?” The ringleader asked angrily while glaring at Scotty. They were the same height and about the same build but Scotty knew that more than one kid had made the mistake of thinking that just because he was a white kid in a predominately black neighborhood that he would back down in fear. Their mistake was not realizing that he’d had to learn how to fight in order to survive the streets as well as his home. He never backed down from a fight.
“That’s her brother,” Jalissa responded flippantly, no longer afraid of the boys that had moments before made her momentarily regret her decision to wear tight shorts and shirt.
At the declaration, Vanessa’s eyes widened and her face burned bright red. If she could have, she would have socked her cousin in the eye. She and Scotty had never talked about their relationship. She wasn’t even sure if he even knew that she was aware of it.
She eyed Scotty who grabbed her upper arm possessively. “Yeah. And it’s time for you to go home.” His eyes were on the three boys and not on her.
The teen, who had been struck by Vanessa’s exotic beauty gave Scotty a critical look. He sure enough was a white guy and the girl was obviously mixed so…
He raised his hands and backed down. “Hey man, no problem.”
Scotty dragged her across the street after him while G chuckled and Jalissa tried to keep up. Vanessa looked at Scotty in surprise thinking that he was playing the roll of a concerned brother a little too realistically. Once they were safely on the other side of the street she pulled her arm free, her brow furrowing in disapproval.
“What was that all about?” She asked while rubbing the place where his hand had been. He hadn’t hurt her but his grip had been pretty firm.
“Don’t you girls have any better sense than to be walking around down here wearing booty-shorts and showing off your…” He gestured to her chest and then averted his eyes as two bright red spots appeared on his cheeks. Vanessa folded her arms in front of her in embarrassment upon realizing that Scotty had noticed her boobs.
“We didn’t do anything wrong!” Jalissa snapped.
“Gal, you don’t know what to do with what you got.” Garry said with a snicker.
“How do you know what I can do?” Jalissa sassed back.
Vanessa rolled her eyes. “Jalissa!” Again she remembered that this was all her fault! She then looked at Garry and Scotty in embarrassment. “Thanks. We appreciate the help-”
“We’ll walk you back home.” Scotty interrupted. Vanessa’s attention was taken by the three teens watching them suspiciously.
/> “Yeah, okay.”
As they headed back to the court, Scotty was quietly fuming and not sure why. He glanced at Vanessa who was eating sunflower seeds. She absently pushed her loose hair behind her ears. When did she start wearing her hair down?
His brow furrowed and he cleared his throat. “How have you been?”
“Oh, I’m good.” Vanessa blushed. “How about you?”
“It’s nice being out of school for a while.” His brain needed a rest.
Garry took the basketball from Scotty and began bouncing it and Jalissa’s eyes brightened.
“Are y’all getting ready to go up to the basketball court? Can we come and watch?”
Garry scowled but Scotty interrupted before he could respond.
“Yeah, if you want.”
“Whatever,” G spoke. “But I’m not babysitting these two.” The older boy gave Jalissa a pointed look. “If you get a bunch of guys coming after you because you want to shake your ass, then I’m going to let you see what happens.”
Vanessa grew cold despite the heat of summer when she thought about another little girl that had found herself in dire circumstances right where the basketball court was located.
Mistaking her change of expression Scotty shook his head in denial. “No, we won’t let that happen. But if you come up you’re going to have to control that.” He pointed to Jalissa’s butt to the young girl’s delight. She promised to control her booty shaking and the four of them headed up the hill to the basketball court.
The girls sat on the stoop and watched the boys playing one on one. Before too long Anthony and Donald showed up and joined the game and then some older guys wanted to play too. They split up into shirts and skins and the game became fierce! They played like it was more than a game—they played as if their lives depended on it. Vanessa routed for the younger boys; Scotty, Anthony, G and even Donald. But seeing Scotty with his shirt off was bittersweet, especially when some other females joined them on the sidelines and a few of them began admiring ‘the white boy’.
Scandalous Heroes Box Set Page 45
