Chapter 10- Lips of an Angel

Sean stepped out of his last class of the day happier than he could be. He had made it through day two of school and had possibly made a new friend. He looked around in the hallways for Manny, knowing she would be somewhere around the English class because that was her last period. He knew this simply because he had glanced at her schedule, there was nothing creepy or stalker like about it. He kept telling himself that as he made his way towards the English hallway. He reached the doorway just as Manny came strolling out, struggling to pack some books into her bag. He smiled and grabbed a couple of the books just as they were about to fall.

"Need some help there?" He laughed and shoved them into her bag like it was nothing. It really wasn't that hard, she must have just been a little weak. She smiled and looked up at Sean who was caught off guard. He could finally see her face where a huge bandage stretched across her nose and she looked as though she was in pain. He wondered what happened to her and how she walked away with an injury like that. He thought it might be a catfight, those could get pretty wild sometimes and Manny was known to cause them back in her day. "Wow...what happened to your nose?"

Manny turned red and covered the bandage with her hand. She seemed really embarrassed about it and Sean thought it was kind of cute. He smiled at her but felt a little bad for putting her on the spot like that. He waited patiently for an answer as they walked along to the front door. "It was...um...an accident. I tripped when we were playing volleyball and I fell on my face. I'm such a ditz." She laughed and adjusted her bag on her shoulder; he could see the bag strap digging in deep.

"Here, let me." He grabbed the bag from her and wrapped it around his shoulder. He was surprised at how heavy it really was and wondered how she had carried it so far. She smiled at him as he opened the door for her once they got to the front of the building. They were two of the last to leave, seeing as they had moved so slow through the hallway. He followed her out and they stopped to talk at the bottom of the front steps.

"So...about The Dot and helping me study...it's ok if you can't go, I mean I would understand." Sean said, shunning himself on the inside as he wondered why he was always beating himself up and trying to talk for people. She hadn't said a word about not being able to go and yet here he was acting like he didn't want her to come. He gripped the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, hoping she wouldn't take what he said the wrong way.

"Oh...no I should be able to go. It's not like they need me at the house anyways and well...I can't exactly work looking like this. So, let's go." She smiled and began walking in the direction of The Dot. Sean smiled at her being so bubbly and happy and followed her. He wondered whether she felt the same strange feeling he did when they were together. As they rounded the corner and got closer to The Dot, they walked side by side goofing around and chatting. He was catching up on everything that happened while he was gone and was actually having a good time.

They got to The Dot and grabbed the first available booth seat. They ordered some fries and cokes and took their books out so they could begin studying. Manny was opening to the page number when her pencil rolled over onto Sean's side of the table. As she reached over to get it, Sean got a clear view straight down Manny's shirt. He felt a little perverted for the second time while in Manny's presence; first seeing her in thong and now seeing her boobs. But, regardless of this thought, he couldn't make himself look away. As she reached for the pencil it rolled onto Sean's lap. Before he could move she reached over and grabbed it, brushing his thigh as she pulled the pencil back. Sean got this tingly feeling in his leg that went up his entire body and he shivered a bit. He hadn't ever looked at Manny in any other way besides as a friend because she had always seemed like too much of a tease. But as he spent more and more time with her he found himself enjoying her company and imaging things being able to go further than just friendship.

After two trays of fries and three rounds of soda, they were done with the homework and Sean understood everything. He decided to try and casually change the topic. He began asking her what her favorite things to do where, what she liked the most and what she hated. It was fun to get to know her and they at times would crack up at each other's answers. They were actually becoming pretty good friends as far as Sean could tell and Manny was really into his jokes and sense of humor. She laughed at pretty much everything he threw at her and she had the most amazing smile he had ever seen. She was just naturally beautiful and he admired that.

As they started getting into sharing secrets, Sean got a little nervous and got quieter than he had been. He had a lot of secrets that Manny probably shouldn't know about, some of them involving his days in the infamous Ravine. He had a dark past, filled with fighting, regret, and abortion, that haunted him everywhere he went. But that was all a thing of the past and Amy was out of his life now. Manny told him about little things she had done and what kind of things she had experimented with when she was in her freshman year.

Finally as their conversation started to slow down, Sean noticed it was getting dark outside and looked down at his watch. He was surprised to see that it was already seven and he remembered he would have to get back to the apartment soon. He still had a lot of homework to finish for other classes and now that he had math out of the way he could focus on completing everything else. He shut his math book and packed it into his bag.

"Whoa, it's getting kind of late. I'm having a great time but I have a ton of other work to do before I hit the sack." He looked up at Manny who was staring at the ceiling with a goofy expression on her face. She laughed and nodded at him in agreement. She looked really happy and he was glad to know that he had helped in getting her there. He had learned a lot about her that night and was happy he suggested it in the first place.

As Sean got up from the booth, Manny packed her stuff up and followed him to the counter where he pulled some money out of his pocket to pay. It was sweet of him to treat her like that; she wasn't even thinking about the bill. She wondered what Snake and Spike would think when she got in this late; she was normally home around five or six. Sean held the door open for her as they got to the entrance of The Dot. She smiled and thanked him, then waltzed through pretending to be proper and ladylike. They both started laughing as they made their way back to the school. Sean's truck was still there and he wanted to end his study session with Manny by bringing her home, even if Emma's house was only five minutes from the school.

"So do you mind if I give you a ride back to Emma's house? It won't take long and it's the least I can do after you taught me that math stuff plus I want to." Sean smiled at her, hoping that she would say yes. He didn't want to have to leave her yet because he was having such a good time.

"Sure, that'd be great." They reached his car and he hit the switch to open all the doors. Manny smiled at him and hopped in the passenger's side. He jumped in the driver's seat and started the car. As they drove the five minutes to Emma's house, they were talking the entire way about the latest movies that had come out and which ones looked good. When they finally reached Emma's house, Sean pulled up slowly in front of it, coming to a soft halt. Manny grabbed her bag from the backseat and turned to him.

"Thanks for the ride. I had tons of fun today, thanks for inviting me." She reached for the car handle and pulled it but it wouldn't open. She pulled harder and when it still wouldn't open she turned back to Sean, puzzled. "Um...something's wrong with your door." He looked over at the door and noticed that it was locked; it was blatantly obvious. He played it cool though and reached over, tugged on it a little bit, and moved back to his seat in false defeat. Manny, who knew what was wrong and was just playing along, reached over to his side and pressed the unlock button to the left of Sean. She leaned back up and found her face dangerously close to Sean's; close enough to feel his every breath on her lips. She knew she shouldn't act out what was in her mind; she would be betraying her best friend, but she was so pissed off at Emma at that moment that she didn't even care. She leaned in and planted a soft but passionate kiss on Sean's lips, landing a hand on his inner thigh. They sat there for a moment, kissing in the dark cab of the truck. As she pulled away slowly, they sat there with their eyes closed for a second, both drinking in the moment they had been anticipating since they left The Dot. Manny opened her eyes and smiled at him, then reached for the handle. This time the door opened and she took one last look back at him.

"Wow...well um...I'll see you tomorrow I guess," Sean said, a surprised smile on his face. If only he could see the look on his face; like a ten year old boy that had just opened exactly what they had asked for on Christmas. He wasn't at all disappointed, it was exactly how he had wanted the day to end but he didn't want her to leave yet. She pushed the door open all the way and let her hand drag across his thigh as she slid out of the truck, sending waves of intense feelings through his body. He shivered for a second time that night at her touch and smiled at her one last time. He wished they could have kept kissing but if Emma were to see them it would be hell to pay.

"Yeah, definitely. Thanks again for today." She shut the car door walked around the front of the truck and up the steps, turning back to see Sean staring at her with a dazed smile on his face. His eyes looked as if they were off in a different place, like they were seeing some crazy unreal world. She laughed at the thought and walked in the front door, closing the door quietly as she slipped off her shoes. She tiptoed past the living room where Snake and Spike were watching a movie and into the kitchen where two plates of food lay on the table untouched. She smiled at the gesture; Snake and Spike were so good to her that she almost didn't deserve them. They treated her like she was a member of their family, one of their daughters, and it made her sad to be in a fight with Emma. She slowly moved to the basement door and eased it open. Quickly but quietly, she crept down the stairs, avoiding the creaks that she knew were there. She made it to the bottom of the stairs and into the basement where she could just make out a figure lying in the bed. She smiled at Emma and dropped her bag at the side of the bed. She changed into her pajamas, removed her makeup, and brushed her teeth, even though she knew she would have to redo it all over again in a few hours. She couldn't go a night without working or she'd risk the chance of a lifetime. She was saving up for the unknown and it seemed like every place she had wanted to work at was taken or was only hiring older, more experienced people. She wasn't proud of the job she had ended up getting but it earned her a lot and she got tips bigger than her salary.

She walked over to the bed and gently laid down in it, focusing hard on not waking Emma up. She closed her eyes and fell into a short but comfortable sleep. A little alarm went off around twelve and she reluctantly got up, got dressed, reapplied all her makeup, and snuck out of the basement through the way she always went. It was a little harder in thin heels but she managed. When she landed in the grass she stood up and straightened herself out. She looked a lot different than when she had entered the house. She was wearing a short mini skirt and a tight top that showed midriff, cleavage, and had no straps.

She walked around the side of the house and stepped onto the sidewalk. It was disturbingly quiet and she could hear her heels click against the pavement with every step she took. She walked to the end of the street and took a right. Her work was a couple of blocks down and not in the best area of town. She was always afraid that she may be the victim of some sick night attack.

Finally she reached a noisy street covered with neon lights and drunk men stumbling from bars because they were too wasted to walk straight. Cars were parked all along the sidewalk and a few horns blared out as angry drunks attempted to drive home in hopes that they wouldn't be stopped by any police officers. She sighed as she reached a building somewhere in the center of this chaos and stopped. She looked up at the sign which had letters glowing neon red. The Catscratch Club, it read and then a small caption underneath it that she couldn't make out due to her being so close, but she was pretty sure of what it said. She hated the thought of going in there night after night to do the same thing that went against everything she was raised on. It was such a sin that she hoped nobody ever found out, she was sure if word of it ever reached her parents that her father would disown her for life.

She walked down a side alleyway that was heavily lit to ensure that nobody could try and attack someone. There were body guards standing outside a door that appeared to lead to the back area of the building. Manny walked up to the bulky man that was carrying a clip board and had a pen pinched between his thick, rugged fingers. He eyed her curiously and asked for her name; if she wasn't on the list she didn't get inside no matter how big her dreams were.

"Manuella," she said as she waited for him to find her on the list. Finally he made a grunt and scribbled something with his pen. He nodded to her and opened the door, closing it immediately as she got inside. She walked to an open makeup station and began preparing for her hour.