Scandalous Heroes Box Set (66 page)

Scotty swallowed back his regret for what might come because it was too late for him to turn back now.

~***~

Vanessa tried to stick close to Jalissa but the pregnant girl was too busy dancing with her baby’s Daddy; Dante. She then tried to stick close to Sal but even the normally tame girl was doing some X-Rated dancing with a guy.

She was at a disadvantage because she didn’t know anybody at the party except for her girls—who were all on the dance floor. And she wasn’t about to bump and grind with all of the strangers that kept asking her to dance--she didn’t even know how to do these dances! This was not the type of party that Vanessa was accustomed to. She couldn’t just go up to some girl and start talking about school or a show because these girls looked at her the way Kaneeja used to look at her back in the day, like she had overstayed her welcome. For the first time in a long while she felt like that girl who was wrong; looked wrong, acted wrong.

“Vanessa.” She looked up into the face of a good-looking young man. She was about to decline his not-yet-asked invitation to dance when a jolt of recognition hit her.

“Phonso?”

The smiling young man pulled her into a bear hug, which she accepted gratefully because she actually knew someone. She began to relax by small degrees and hoped that now the men would give her some space, and the women would stop mean mugging her.

“Damn, girl!” he said while giving her an admiring look. “You’re taller than me.”

She chuckled. “I’ve always been taller than you, Phonso.”

“Uh...I don’t recall that. I remember being much taller than you.”

“If you say so.” She joked. Suddenly a pretty black woman walked up to them. She crossed her arms in front of her and tapped her foot and twisted her lips as if she had sucked a lemon.

“Who’s this Phonso?” She asked.

Vanessa quickly removed her arms from him but he would have none of that and he placed his arm around her waist.

“Gal, watch yourself! This is one of my sisters!”

Phonso’s girl quickly relaxed her posture and an apologetic smile crossed her face as she examined the multi-racial girl hugged up on her man. Phonso had so many brothers and sisters that she couldn’t keep up with them.

“Oh, hey.” She shook Vanessa’s hand. “I’m Angelique.”

Vanessa glanced quickly at Phonso as she accepted the woman’s hand, briefly wondering if there was actually a possibility that they might be siblings. But that would be impossible since Phonso was half black with a white mother while she was half black with a black mother. With no other choice but to play along, Vanessa introduced herself. “Hi. I’m Van-DONNA! I mean, Vanessa.”

Angelique’s smile faded away as she eyed Vanessa suspiciously.

Oh damn I’m about to get beat up at my first house party, she thought.

She felt someone standing behind her a little too closely and she turned, preparing to tell them to back off. Her heart nearly leaped from her chest at the sight of Scotty. His eyes swept over her before he quickly slapped hands with his brother giving him a half hug. He bent and kissed Angelique on the cheek and then surprised her when he did the same to her.

She blinked at him. In that moment skyrockets went off in her mind and the world moved in slow motion. Everything faded out except for Scotty, his cornflower eyes and the lips that had touched her cheek.

Again she was struck by his height and build. The simple shirt he wore clearly showcased the plains of his torso, and although he wasn’t dressed in a stylish fashion, his casual look was something she much more preferred.

“How are you Vanessa?” He asked, his eyes seeming to pin her in place.

“I-hi.” She stuttered.

Someone loudly greeted Scotty, slapping his hands. While the two briefly chatted, he placed a light hand on Vanessa’s arm, not allowing her to retreat. It surprised and delighted her because she certainly would have wandered away to give him privacy. She suddenly no longer felt out of her element…actually she suddenly felt like butterflies were flopping around in her belly.

Another man approached Phonso, whispering to him and they retreated, thankfully taking Angelique with them. Scotty finished his conversation and then leaned forward to speak in her ear. “Who are you here with?”

She shivered involuntarily as his warm breath touched her ear. She was about to say nobody when she suddenly remembered Jalissa and the gang.

“I’m here with my cousin Jalissa and some friends.”

He felt relieved that she didn’t say she was here with her boyfriend. “You’re not drinking anything. Do you want something?”

She nodded. “Sure.” He led her to the table where the drinks were set up, his light touch now on her wrist. It was as if he was holding her hand, like he was her date! She watched him walk confidently though the crowd and it reminded her of when they were younger. He never seemed intimidated or fearful. And now as an adult he was still comfortable in his surroundings—despite being one of two or three white people present. He was obviously well liked because several people greeted him with hand slaps or head nods. But then a sobering thought crossed her mind; Of course everyone would know him, he’s a drug dealer. Her brow furrowed.
People get shot messing around with drug dealers…

She stared at the silky strands of his hair and her heartbeat sped up. This wasn’t just some drug dealer. This was Scotty. But the thought filled her with a sense of sadness rather than relief.

They reached the table that held the drinks and Scotty scanned the array of liquor before smirking at her. “Are you old enough to drink?”

Surprised at the question she stuttered. “Well…no.”

“How old are you?”

“Seventeen. But I’ll be eighteen in a few months…” she blushed, wondering why she had said that.

“I think you better stick with soda.”

She cocked her head at him, not wanting him to think that she still needed his protection. “Well for your information I’ve already had a drink tonight. Thank you very much.”

“Oh?”

“Yes.”

He rubbed his goatee and her eyes fell on his lips and the hair of his chin and she wished that it was her fingers touching him.

“And who’s driving?” he continued.

Vanessa pulled her eyes from his stroking fingers and quickly scanned the room. She pointed to Sal who happened to take that moment to chug back a bottle of malt liquor.

He suppressed his scowl and passed her a beer, bypassing the hard stuff. “Here. But I’m driving you home.”

Her head began to spin. Wait a minute…wasn’t this how men picked up women? Was Scotty trying to pick up on her? Or maybe he thought that he had to resume his role as her babysitter. That last thought bothered her.

Her brow gathered and her eyes bore into him. “I’m not twelve years old any more. I can take care of myself these days.”

Scotty didn’t try to hide the way his gaze ran slowly along her body. It gave her the sensation of fingertips lightly tracing her skin and she shivered. “I’m aware of that.” He looked away. “And I think that you have taken very good care of yourself.”

She was happy when he turned away—turning her loose of his gaze and the onslaught of sensations that were enveloping her. Her body relaxed at the reprieve, but her head was in turmoil as she searched her mind for something hip or cool to say. She was so bad at this; talking to boys, flirting, being cool that she wasn’t sure what to do next.

She opened her beer and took a small sip, hoping it would relax her. She noted that he hadn’t gotten a drink for himself and appeared to be in deep thought as he looked out into the crowd…perhaps searching for someone more interesting than her.

“So you’re really going to be my designated driver?”

He met her eyes again. “Yes.”

“And won’t your girlfriend get mad if a strange girl is in your car?” She held her breath waiting.

He gave her an amused look. “If you want to know if I have a girlfriend just ask me.”

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

“Nope.”

She couldn’t help the smile that crossed her face at the same time that she wanted to kick herself for being so obvious.
Why don’t you just jump in his arms and say yay!
She thought.

“And what about you?” He asked.

She paused before answering, taking another sip of beer. “Nope.”

Scotty relaxed. Not that it would have changed anything, he could go nowhere but forward.  “And why is that?”

She chuckled at the question. “Why don’t you have a girlfriend?” For all she knew, maybe boys thought that it was just as jive to have a girlfriend as girls apparently thought it was to have a boyfriend. Maybe everybody just hopped from person to person.

He could have lied, but he knew that she was one of a very few people that he didn’t have to lie to. He sighed. “Because…having a girlfriend is a waste of time.” She tilted her head in surprise and waited for him to explain.

“It’s like playacting.” In his opinion, people used the poorest excuses for making someone their boyfriend or girlfriend—and generally love was not in the equation. “The person that is my girlfriend should be linked to me and not just a casual interest. Anything short of that is just a game.”

She digested that and found that it made sense. Isn’t that basically the reason that she had not connected with any of the boys from her school? She just didn’t feel anything powerful enough to make it worthwhile.

Vanessa suddenly realized that there was no need for her to talk hip and cool with him. She never had to in the past because he never did it himself. So what had turned that boy into this man that sold drugs for a living instead of studying his Latin phrases and going on to college? Was the boy that had been her first love still in him somewhere? She bit her lip lightly as she dredged up her secret guilt; that she was somehow responsible for Scotty’s turn for the worst.

“I heard about…well about you going to juvie.”

He watched her closely and then nodded. “Stupid, huh? I got kicked out of Walnut Hills. But I still managed to get my GED.” He saw that her expression had gone serious and he hoped that she wasn’t thinking that he was just a waste of space.

Her voice came in a sudden rush. “Remember that last night? Back when I ran away from you?”

His brow gathered in surprise that she would want to speak of that night after what Tino had done to her. “I remember.” How could he forget? It had changed everything…

“I wasn’t running from you. I just wanted to tell you that.” After that night she had not seen him again. And maybe he had taken that as a rejection without realizing the many sleepless nights that she had spent missing him.

“It’s okay Vanessa. That was a bad time and I knew you weren’t.” She searched his eyes but saw only sincerity. “Are things better for you?” he asked.

She smiled. “Yeah, my grandma is great.” And suddenly there was no more pressure to act a certain way. Their conversation flowed easily. She told him about her grandma, and that she had just graduated from SCPA. His pleased smile was wide and bright.

“That is amazing, Vanessa. I’m happy to hear that.” He couldn’t believe that he was about to reveal this, but he wanted her to know. “I have to admit to something. I use to listen to you sing.”

Her eyes grew wide. “When did you ever hear me sing?”

“When you didn’t know.” He would hear her singing as he rode his bike around her parking lot. It was so long ago…back when he wanted to preserve the innocence of everyone else but he couldn’t even do it for himself.

An old Earth Wind and Fire song began to play and several people whooped despite the fact that it had been a hit back in the mid seventies.

Scotty took her hand. “Would you dance with me?”

She gave him a surprised look and he took that as a yes. He led her out to where other couples were slow dancing to Love’s Holiday. Her knees nearly buckled when he pulled her into his arms. She stared at him, barely daring to breathe. Was this real? The way he held her felt amazing, his body was rock solid against hers and again she felt how perfectly toned he was. Vanessa knew she had a dumb look on her face when he had to take her hand to place around his neck, reminding her to hold him too.

Scotty held her close, her body molding to his perfectly. He had never touched her like this, had never known that she would fit so perfectly against him. The last of his barriers slowly eroded away.

He had missed her. He had missed her a great deal. He lowered his head so that his cheek was against hers and then he inhaled her, relaxing for maybe the first time in years. In that moment he was transported back to a time and place when he had still been optimistic. Even though he had been a little thug, a little drug dealer, a little thief, he had dared to think that he could avoid becoming just what he had turned out to be.

He suddenly felt sorry for that dumb kid that had learned to bury his emotions in the hopes that he would be unable to feel anything. What other choice did he have? If he dared to trip up on some feelings then the pain and hurt would have overwhelmed him. But in protecting himself from pain—he had also denied himself feelings such as this. He wished that he could turn back the clock so that he could tell the thirteen-year old Vanessa that she was about the only bright spot in his horrible life.

He pulled back and stared into warm brown eyes as the lyrics of the song drifted around them; voicing his exact thoughts. All of the questions that the lyrics asked seemed to be coming directly from him. Vanessa’s lips parted as she stared into his eyes, seeming to read his unspoken emotions. Scotty wondered if their undeniable connection was what allowed him to read her so well, and that perhaps she could do the same to him. 

Vanessa clearly saw his desire for her—and not the predatory look of men that were attracted to her light complexion and long hair, but a yearning for a remembered and shared past. Vanessa smiled. She suddenly knew that Scotty liked her every bit as she liked him, he just hadn’t shown it until now.

It’s alright,
her smile said.
Everything is alright. We have not lost anything as long as we recognize what we have now.
And then she did something that completely amazed Scotty. She reached up and placed her lips on his.