You. Owe. Me. Ch. 04

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I went a little method with this one. Forgive any creative indulgences that detract from the story. As always, let me know what you think.

PS - For those of you into Trance, Techno, and/or Electronica...this one's for you.

------

Laura was thankful she'd decided to wear underwear. Otherwise, she would have had a big wet spot on her cords. And that could have been a little embarrassing as they came back out into the complex.

It was just after two in the afternoon, and the morning crowds had thinned. The fields were now open to walk-ons and practices and would remain so until later that night when the high school teams came to play.

"So what's the deal?" Chris asked her. "Are we eating here or going out or what?"

"I don't know. I told Rebecca we'd find her."

Chris's brow furrowed as he thought of something. "Where did you tell her you were going after the game?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm assuming you didn't tell her you were going into the locker room to surprise me."

Laura laughed. "I told her I was going to the bathroom."

He nodded. "Good thinking. Tell you what. You find Rebecca, I'll find Simon, we'll meet at the arcade and go from there."

"Okay." And before she realized what she was doing, she leaned in and kissed him. As their lips touched, it occurred to her that this was their first time kissing in public.

When she pulled back, she half expected him to be embarrassed or uncomfortable, but he wasn't. He just smiled at her cutely. "One more." Relieved, she was only too happy to comply. "See you at the arcade, kiddo."

"Brat!" She playfully pushed him away. She hated that name. And then he disappeared into the sparse crowd.

As she milled around the complex, she found herself less interested in finding Rebecca and more preoccupied with her thoughts. She couldn't stop smiling. With every encounter she shared with Chris, she became more bold, more comfortable and secure with who she was.

Ever since she'd first met him, she'd secretly had a small crush. She knew that was why they'd gotten along so well. As far as stepsiblings go, they were probably two of the closest, even before their little interludes had begun.

But then yesterday, something had clicked in her mind. She knew most people would expect them to feel guilty or shameful about what they were doing, but she also knew there was nothing ugly or dirty about any of it.

Society imposed guidelines, and many of those guidelines were rooted in thousand-year-old dogma and beliefs. But humankind as a civilization is constantly progressing forward, evolving, bettering itself. Now, some of those guidelines and supposed "morals" were antiquated.

But her mind was wandering...

The simple truth was this: Laura and Chris were not related. And while some may have viewed their budding relationship as "taboo", Laura knew in her heart that for them to be attracted to each other was completely normal. It would be no different if he were a guy that lived down the street. He just happened to live in the room next to hers.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. Rebecca was there beside her. "Hey," Laura said, "I was just looking for you."

"Really? I've been following you since field 3 trying to get your attention."

"Sorry, I was zoning out."

"We still having lunch with Chris?"

Laura nodded and they started walking. "He went to find Simon."

Rebecca's face momentarily darkened. "Simon?"

Laura took her hand reassuringly. "You'll be fine."

They wove their way through the clusters of fans and players that milled around the common area. As they got nearer to the arcade, the crowd thickened with young adolescent boys cramming to change their parents' dollars into shiny tokens. When they reached the electronic forest, complete with its own cacophony of beeps, chirps and explosions, Chris and Simon were no where to be seen. Then Laura spied Simon through the throng of faces.

Laura knew Rebecca and Simon had dated for a year and half. It had been going great until about three months ago when he'd told her he wanted some time to himself. Rebecca hadn't understood, but her patience and compassion demanded she respect his wishes. So she had. And they hadn't really spoken since that night. They'd parted on very civil terms, but Rebecca had never found out the genesis of Simon's request for solitude. Laura knew there would be tension, but she also knew Rebecca couldn't avoid him forever.

As she watched Simon, she saw him talking with someone that she didn't recognize. Then Chris appeared and the three of them laughed about something.

That was when it happened.

It was almost invisible, the casual shake of their hands, the edge of a plastic bag, the crumpled corners of bills. Chris and the stranger both stuffed their hands in their pockets, then the three parted ways, Chris and Simon heading toward the arcade, the stranger moving off toward the concession stand.

Laura couldn't believe it. Had Chris just scored?

The two guys came over and found the two girls. "Hello, ladies," Chris said pleasantly.

"Who was that?" Laura asked.

Simon answered. "Friend of mine from school." He saw Rebecca. "Hey, Beck."

"Hey," she said, smiling pleasantly.

Laura hadn't known what to expect when the ex's saw each other. If she hadn't known better, though, she would've thought they were just two regular friends.

"So we were thinking we'd grab a bite at Lorenzo's," Chris said. He seemed eager to leave. Laura couldn't tell if it was her imagination.

"Sounds good to me," Rebecca said.

Chris turned to Laura. "You okay with that?"

He seemed different from when they'd parted ways by the locker room only a few minutes earlier. He was too happy, too excited. Her stare probed his face, but he just smiled. She nodded.

"Great." He looked at Rebecca. "You need a ride?"

"Yeah, my folks left with Kyle." Kyle was her little brother.

Simon said, "I can take her."

All three of them looked at him with obvious surprise. Chris looked at Rebecca and shrugged. "You okay with that?" She nodded. "Okay. We'll meet you there."

------ Chris knew Laura was upset.

All during the ride to Lorenzo's, he'd tried coaxing conversation out of her, but she just sat there beside him, staring at her camera or out the window or sometimes taking pictures out the window. When she would, he'd ask to see them on her preview screen. She'd show him, he'd say it was nice, and she'd thank him, then go back to silently staring.

He knew she'd seen him with Jason, Simon's friend. And he also knew he shouldn't deny it, either. After a prolonged uncomfortable silence, he finally asked her, "You're upset with me, aren't you?"

She turned and looked at him. Her gaze was direct. "Did you and Simon pick up?" He sighed and looked back out at the road. "I thought you'd quit."

"And I didn't think you cared this much."

"I don't, I just..." She trailed off then looked back out the window. "...don't agree."

"Have you ever tried it?"

"No."

Personally, he didn't think she had any right to tell him not to do it then. He was the med student, after all. But he kept that opinion to himself. "You ever wanted to?"

She didn't answer.

He looked over at her. She was still staring out the window, doing her best to ignore him. He wanted to reach over and touch her but decided against it. Instead, he dug into his pocket and produced a small plastic bag and dropped it in her lap.

It wasn't filled with oregano.

She looked down at it, just staring.

"Throw it out," he said. When he saw the look she gave him, he had to laugh. "You know you want to. Don't look at me like I'm crazy."

"But you paid for this, didn't you?"

"Simon and I split it, yeah. But if you don't want me doing it, then throw it out."

"What about Simon?"

"I'll give him his money back."

She tilted her head at him. He did his best to stare straight ahead. "Why would you do that?"

He was quiet for a minute, then shrugged. "It's not worth you being upset with me."

Laura just continued staring at him incredulously. "You're joking, right? There's more, right? Something like that?"

He took a breath. Now he was getting upset. "Look, Laura, if you don't want me getting high, here's your chance. I'm not gonna piss you off for pot. Now either get rid of it or shut the fuck up about it." A moment passed, then he said, "I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that."

She held the bag up, peering at its contents. He quickly grabbed her hand and forced it down below the window. She glanced around quickly at the cars around them, then looked back at the bag. "You'd actually let me throw all this out?"

He nodded silently. They drove a few more miles in silence, the bag still out in the open on her lap. They were approaching a red light. Chris worried about being stopped and someone seeing the bag. But before they reached the intersection, he felt her stuffing it back into his pocket.

"What are you doing?"

She answered quietly, calmly. "Just because I don't like something you do doesn't mean you don't have to do it anymore." She met his eyes and her gaze was soft.

He braked for the red light and they rocked back gently as the car came to rest. "You're sure?"

She nodded her head yes.

"Well...you wanna smoke with us tonight?"

She shook her head no.

"Would you...would you want to smoke with me tonight?"

She stared at the gear shifter between them for a moment. "You?"

"Me."

"Just you?" She seemed to perk up as she said it.

"If you want to."

She looked down at her camera thoughtfully. When she looked back up, he saw a contained smile on her lips, and she avoided looking at him. "Maybe," she said with a shrug.

He smiled. "Maybe?"

His smile made her smile grow. "Maybe."

"Like, maybe yes, or maybe no?"

She was giggling. "Like maybe. Now go, the light's green."

He suddenly leaned across and kissed her cheek, nuzzling her neck playfully. It tickled and she laughed and tried to push him away. "Stop! Go!"

The car behind them honked.

"Kiss me," he said.

"Drive!" she laughed.

"Not until you kiss me."

"You're such an ass."

"Kiss me or we sit here." He was so stubborn it was cute. Other cars were honking now and Laura was getting flustered. Finally, she leaned across and gave him a quick peck. "Hey," he protested. She leaned back and drilled him hard on the mouth, their tongues touching lightly before she pushed him against the wheel.

"Now go!"

He did. And she couldn't stop smiling.

------ When they got home, the house was empty.

Lucy was most likely at the office; no one wondered about her absences or disappearances anymore. As for Jack, Laura found a note on the kitchen table. He'd gone into the museum to work on some last minute restorations.

Then she felt Chris's arms slide around her from behind, his face nuzzling comfortably against her neck. "No one home?" he asked.

"Just us." She cuddled against his embrace, and they both breathed in as much of the other as they could. "The whole house. Empty."

He kissed the ridge of her ear. "Wonder what we could do."

Smiling, she turned to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Anything. Everything." She kissed him lightly. "I'm sorry about earlier."

"When?"

"In the car. Me being upset."

He shook his head. "Don't be." Then he raised a brow. "Do you wanna try it out?"

"Now?"

"Sure. No one's home. I'll pack a small bowl."

She thought about it for a moment. "You think we should?"

"Why not?"

A slight smile slowly crept across her face. "Why not."

The two went up to Chris's room, where he closed and locked the door. He went over to his desk and pulled a small glass bowl from one of the drawers. Laura sat on his bed, watching as he pulled the plastic bag from his pocket. He opened it and pulled out a small clump. To Laura, it looked like the dirty roots of some plant.

"Can I see it?" she asked. He handed her the bag then began crumbling up the clump and packing it into the bowl.

As Laura studied the bag's contents, Chris's cell phone rang. It was Simon. "Yo, mon," Chris answered.

"What is up, brutha?"

"Packing a bowl."

"Alone?"

"With Laura."

"You serious?" Chris could hear the surprise in Simon's voice, and Laura looked at him curiously upon the mention of her name. She mouthed, who is it? Chris mouthed back that it was Simon.

"I am deadly serious, my friend. She's decided to join the ranks of the Bohemian."

"Fantastic," Simon said. "Beck wants to get in on tonight. Think Laura would be up for the group thing?"

"Let's see how she likes it first."

"Fair enough."

"Is Becky with you now?" Chris asked.

"Nah, I took her home."

"You guys were pretty friendly during lunch," Chris said. "Anything going on there?" Chris and Laura exchanged knowing grins.

"Nothing I know of," Simon said easily.

"If you do know of anything, we'll be the first to know, right?"

"You'd be the second to know. And, we'll see."

"Fair enough," Chris said. "Our parents have that play to go to tonight. I'll call you after they leave."

"Sounds good. Later." They hung up.

"Anything?" Laura asked.

"He's not saying much." Chris joined her on the bed. He pointed the remote at the stereo. Moments later, electronica could be heard.

"Who's this?" Laura asked.

"Hooj Choong. You haven't heard of them."

"Says who?"

"You don't listen to trance."

"That's because I like my songs to have a point."

He smiled knowingly. "In a few minutes, you're going to completely see the point of trance."

The way he said it and the look on his face made her stomach boil with excitement. She felt like she was at the beginning of a rollercoaster, climbing the first big hill and anticipating the inevitable plummet.

"Okay, so. This is a bowl." He held it out for her to take. It was heavier than she thought, made of glass with swirls of colors coursing through it. Chris pointed to a small opening on the side. "That's what we call a shotgun. Some people call it a carb, but the name doesn't matter. Here's what you do."

He took the bowl back from her and held it so that his thumb was covering the "shotgun." Then he lit the bowl with a lighter and inhaled. At the end of the hit, he took his thumb away from the shotgun. Laura watched the smoke that had gathered in the chamber disappear into Chris's mouth. Chris sat there holding his breath, holding up a finger, indicating she should wait. He checked his watch, and she laughed, then he finally let the smoke out.

"Wow," was all she said.

"Basically," he coughed slightly. "We call it a shotgun because when you let it go at the end of the hit, it shoots the smoke deeper into your lungs. Deeper hit, better high. It's as simple as that."

"How do you know if it's a good high or a bad high?"

He shrugged. "You just know." He handed it back to her. "You try."

She took the bowl and the lighter, holding them the way he'd done. "How hard do I suck?" He burst out laughing, and she immediately joined him.

"As hard as you want," he said, calming down. "But I'd suggest you take it easy for your first time. Here, I'll light it for you." She gave the lighter back to him. "Ready?"

She closed her lips around the end and nodded. "Start breathing in," he told her. She did and he struck the lighter. She watched as the flame was sucked down into the herb. As it burned, she watched the tiny cinders spread through the packing, clumps expanding as they burned.

Then he took the lighter away. "Alright, let go of the shotty." She did, and immediately felt her lungs balloon with smoke. She scrambled to hand the bowl back to him as she started coughing. He took it and rubbed his hand soothingly across her back. "It's okay, let it out, don't hold it in." He went over to the mini-fridge in the corner and grabbed a bottle of iced tea. "Here, small sips." She did so and gradually her coughing fit subsided.

When she spoke, her voice was hoarse. "Wow." She let herself fall over into his lap, catching her breath.

He stroked her hair gently. "That was good for a first time." He took another hit, and Laura watched, amazed by the ease with which he held the smoke in his lungs. Finally, after ten seconds or so, he let it out. "You just gotta work on holding it longer." He offered the bowl back to her. "Wanna go again?"

Her voice still felt hoarse, so she simply nodded. He held the bowl to her mouth and lit it. This time he held the shotgun, and when he let it go it was much more manageable. "Big breath in," he coached, "keep going, keep going, keep going, and...hold it."

Reclining with her head in his lap, she stared up at him holding her breath. She could still smell and taste the acrid smoke, but she wouldn't classify it as bad, per se. She could feel her heart beating steadily in her chest, her pulse throbbing in her ears. Her hands began to tingle and yet not tingle. She couldn't really describe it. It felt like relaxation was a tide, and it had just crested over her entire body, a tranquil peace that breached against the shores of her insides.

Whoa. Had she just thought that?

She watched Chris take another hit, and it wasn't long before she'd nearly forgotten that she was still holding her breath. He noticed and exploded with laughter, the smoke bursting from him in coughs. "Oh shit," he said between coughs. "You can let it out now."

She slowly breathed out, watching her smoky exhalation float up toward the ceiling, mesmerized by it. Chris was still laughing as he watched her. "How do you feel?" he asked.

Her head lulled from side to side lazily. "I..." she trailed off as if in search of an answer, then blinked back to reality. "What?"

"You're baked."

She cracked a happy grin. "I am?"

"Feel alright?"

She heard the question, but in the time it took her to process a response, she'd forgotten what he asked. And, of course, that was funny. So she started laughing.

"Looks like a yes," Chris chuckled.

"Yeah," she said, sitting up. When she did, she felt an energy roll through her. It buoyed her forward then rolled back like a tide. The next thing she knew, she was rocking back and forth. And, of course, it made sense.

She heard a sound beside her. It was Chris's laughter joining hers.

"This is so cool." She took his hands in hers, playing with his fingers. "I can feel it..." She brought his hands up to her temples. "...here. Behind my eyes. Like a...a...something."

"A something?"

"Yeah," she said, laughing at her verbal prowess. She closed her eyes, letting the feeling carry her. "Like a warmth. Gentle. Calm." When she opened her eyes, she noticed that he was looking at her mouth. She must not have been making any sense, and she suddenly felt self-conscious. She let go of his hands. "Shit, I'm sorry."

She felt his hand on her chin, bringing her eyes back to his. He smiled and kissed her. "Be sorry for nothing."

She started laughing again. "You stole that! Meet Joe Black. You're a Brad Pitt stealer!"

This brought laughter from both of them. He handed the bowl back to her and she took her own solo hit this time. She was able to hold the smoke a good seven seconds - she counted - then coughed it out hard and had to drink some more.

As they finished off the bowl, the music thrummed from the speakers, a steady repetition of beats, keyboards, and distorted voices. Despite her bias, she found herself unknowingly nodding her head to the beat. "This is good music," she said.

"You ain't heard nothing yet." He took the remote, aimed at the receiver, and hit a button.

Suddenly four other speakers from around the room came to life and the rhythmic tones surrounded them, enveloping them. A subwoofer must have kicked on because the room was being bombarded with bass. Not the crude, disgusting kind you hear from bolla cars blasting hip-hop in the city. This was smooth and subtle yet powerful and with an undeniable presence. It resonated in her body, through her bones, into her stomach, against her ribs. It was in concert with her own heartbeat.