One last post for August! Read, review, and enjoy!

BOCD
FRONT LAWN
Monday, September 28
3:45 p.m.

Keelin was glad to have Kali wait with her for Arlen to pick her up. He was taking her to a strip mall with a coffee house that afternoon before he had to go to his football practice. However, he was already five minutes late.

"Are you sure he said he was coming at three forty?" Kali asked, sitting on the bench beside Keelin. She had an open book in her lap, doing the reading for her literature class. Keelin always found it impressive that Michelle and Kali could sit long enough to read the books that they were given in their classes. Keelin wasn't remedial, exactly. She straddled the line between remedial and the regular classes for most subjects. Every time she was placed in remedial, she placed much higher than the rest of the class, but when bumped up to regular classes, her grades plummeted. She excelled in the arts, especially music and fashion design.

"I am positive," Keelin said. She pulled out her phone and showed the text she had received the night before.

"And you're positive for today?" Kali asked.

"Yes," Keelin said. "He wasn't free again until next Monday." She sighed.

"What, exactly, does he have to do that keeps him so busy?" Kali asked, finally looking up from her book.

"Football, and he works, doing yard work and odds and ends for people," Keelin said.

Kali looked at Keelin for a moment. "You know, he looks like he's a drug dealer. And considering his 'odds and ends' work, I wouldn't be surprised if he either is one or turns into one."

Keelin frowned deeply. "Now you're sounding like Michelle," she said.

"I'm not forbidding you from dating him," Kali said. "Just, be careful around him, okay Kee. I don't want you hurt."

"Oh, he's here," Keelin said, smiling and standing. However, her smile wavered and then disappeared when she got a better look at him. He had a black eye. "What happened to you?"

"Oh, this?" Arlen questioned, motioning to his face. "Just walked into a door yesterday."

"A door gave you a black eye?" Kali asked, skeptical.

"It happens," Arlen said stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"I wasn't aware that you were quite so unaware of your surroundings," Kali said. She gave him a fake smile, one that Keelin recognized because of how often Michelle wore it. "Are you sur you should be riding a bike at all?"

"And now you're starting to sound like Pam's cousin," Arlen said.

Kali sighed in frustration. "Does everyone think I'm turning into Michelle?" She questioned.

Keelin shrugged. "Maybe it's the Alpha thing," she said. "You just need to be more Kali and less Alpha."

Arlen balanced his bike. "Shall we go, milady?" he questioned, smiling at Keelin.

Keelin nodded and climbed onto his his handlebars. She was swinging my Madge's house after her date, where she'd be meeting with Kali again, so she left her bag with her new Alpha.

Keelin managed not to scream as Arlen raced around corners this time, even though she wanted to. He wasn't going any slower, but she was slowly beginning to trust his judgment. "We have to make one stop before we get to the coffee place."

The tall girl looked at Arlen. "Where at?" she asked. However, it became apparent when he stopped at a park a few blocks later. There were a few guys standing around, along with a few girls. From the looks, all were older and all went to public school. Arlen helped her off the bike. "These are a few of my friends," Arlen said. "I just owe one of them a little money, so I'm paying him back as long as I've got a little cash."

Keelin nodded. "I'll just stay here, okay?"

Arlen looked at her, and then nodded. But she could still hear a few of the things the others were saying.

"Look at those legs."

"I bet that's a Gucci shirt or something."

"Looks young, but I bet she's fun."

"She's got to be if she's with The Arson."

"I wonder how flexible she is."

"And wondering is all you will be doing," Arlen said, finally reaching the guys. He looked back her and smiled, before turning back to his friends. His words quieted down as he kept talking to the guys, but the girls began to approach.

"Nice booties," one girl said.

Keelin looked down at her black glitter and suede Kate Spade boots. "Thanks," she said slowly. She looked at the girl, moderately pretty, but with no fashion sense whatsoever. At least people like Juli and Trixi had a unique style aside from whatever was on the sale rack at the local Target.

"How much do those go for?" the girl asked.

Keelin shrugged. "My mother got them for me," she said. "She thought it would go well with skinny jeans and my sweater."

"So, you got a pair of shoes specifically for that one shirt?" another girl asked.

"Well, I have other shirts to wear with them, too," she said. She tugged the side that was hanging off her shoulder. It wasn't exactly sweater weather, but one had to make exceptions for fashion. However, by the time the sun fell, it would be just comfortable.

"So, how much are you costing him?" the girl asked.

"Excuse me?" Keelin questioned.

"I mean, we all know that Arlen the Arson couldn't get an OCDiva to actually date him unless he was paying her," the girl said.

"Granted, I've seen prettier ones," another said.

"Girls," Arlen said, and was suddenly right behind them. "Leave Keelin alone."

"We were just suggesting she come to our party Friday night," a third girl said. "After all, you can't come alone."

Arlen looked at her. "I'll think about it," he said.

"Oh, do bring her," a guy said. He looked Arlen in the eye and then smiled at Keelin. "I'm sure we'll all have more fun if she's there."

With that said, Arlen was back on the bike and Keelin got on the handlebars again. He seemed a little distracted as they had their coffee and Keelin didn't know what to say to prompt him to speak. Finally, she asked, "What did they mean by Arlen the Arson?"

Arlen looked at her. "Oh, it's just a nickname they came up with for me a little while back," Arlen said. "You should ignore it."

"You're not actually committing Arson, are you?" Keelin asked.

"Setting fire to buildings? No," Arlen said. "I'm not too keen on being arrested."

Keelin nodded. After finishing their drinks, Arlen took her hand and led her to a small crook between two shops and led her back until her back was against the wall, before bending forward and kissing her. Keelin smiled slightly, until she felt his hands, which had been on either side of her, on her hips, slipping up, and under her sweater. She turned her head away from him, and rather than stopping, he began kissing down her jaw line to her neck.

"Arlen, stop," she said afraid he might make a hickey.

Arlen looked at her, a smile still on his lips, his hands under her shirt with his fingers a few ribs up. Too close to Keelin's bra for her comfort.

"Sorry," he said, pulling his hands down again, at an aggressively slow pace. "I guess I got carried away. It's just hard not to with you, you're so damn beautiful."

Keelin felt her cheeks go red. "You think I'm beautiful?"

Arlen chuckled and leaned close to her again. "Don't you?" he asked right in her ear, before kissing her neck again, and then her exposed shoulder.

By the time she got to Madge's house later that night, her sweater had been repositioned to expose her other shoulder, as the first shoulder was now littered with tiny hickeys that she was not too eager to let her friends know about.