April 1992

"Here," Rio said, handing Beth an envelope as he took the seat next to her in biology.

Staring skeptically at it, Beth asked, "What is it?"

"Look inside," he encouraged.

Opening it up, Beth found a card that read Happy 6th Month Anniversary.

Rio had a big crap-eating grin on his face. "You remember what we did six months ago for the first time, right?"

Beth rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I do."

"We..." Committed a robbery, Beth thought. "went on our first adventure," Rio said, a devilish glint in his eyes.

"If that's what you want to call it," Beth replied wryly as she leaned forward to put the card inside of her backpack.

"You might want to open it up," Rio hinted.

"Why?"

"What kind of anniversary would it be if I didn't get you a present?"

Not knowing what to expect since Rio spent half his life being a wisecrack, Beth was pleasantly surprised to find five crisp hundred dollar bills inside. Scribbled inside was a You earned it partner.

"You like?" Rio asked, his chin propped up on his left hand.

Beth nodded. "I like."

He was right though. She had earned it. She worked her butt off to make straight As. She worked her butt off to keep the house clean and cook dinner every night. And she worked her butt off working for Rio.

It had started off easy. He'd basically brought her back to square one. She divvied up the weed in baggies and taped them inside used books to hand off at school. Since the fiasco with Josh, she'd never been allowed to sell to a client again, but she did all the behind the scenes work. After a couple months of that, he taught her how to shoplift without getting caught. That turned out to not be very profitable so now they were onto a new game - the cleaning/gardening/rob you in the middle of the night business. They cherry picked a few of the upper middle class neighborhoods in Detroit and offered their services. While Beth cleaned, she'd case the place - note where the jewelry and expensive items were kept. She'd also snoop and find a planner or calendar that had their social events listed. While Beth was inside, Rio was outside in the garden, looking for a spare key. Then, they'd return on a night the whole family was out. They'd take some valuables and any cash lying around. Not so much to be too obvious. Then, they'd trade their loot at pawn shops around town. They were able to clear a couple grand each week this way.

Beth didn't like stealing from these people. Many of whom were very nice to her but she had rent to pay and a family to provide for. She couldn't lie. It was nice not having the threat of eviction looming over her head each month.

As Mr. Bell passed out their homework assignment, Beth whispered to Rio, "I need to meet a little later tonight. Say around 11:30? The Wilsons should be gone all weekend. We don't have to worry about them coming home early tonight."

Rio shrugged. "Sure. Doesn't make any difference to me. Got big plans with Dean?"

"We're having dinner with his parents at the country club."

"Ooh la la fancy," Rio mocked, wiggling his eyebrows. "I'll just be kicking it with Dylan. Page me when you're good to go." Patting her shoulder, he grabbed his bag and headed out the door as the bell rang.

Beth sat on her doorstep, face in her hands, her right fingers silently tapping against her cheek as she waited in anxious boredom. She'd paged Rio half an hour ago and he still hadn't shown up.

She exhaled a sigh of relief when his black Honda Accord rolled to a stop in front of her house. Picking up her backpack, she slung it over her shoulder and headed towards his car.

Just as she was about to open the passenger door, the car jerked forward. She made towards the car again only to have it coast another 50 feet. Beth closed her eyes and took a deep breath. He was in one of his moods and being extra douche-y tonight.

Standing still, she ignored his repeated motions to get in the car. She wasn't in the mood for any of his games. She just wanted to get this over with and get back home.

Rolling the window down, Rio said, "Come on now. I was just playing."

Crossing her arms, she shot him a look that could kill. "If that car moves even an inch," she warned. "You get to go over there by yourself."

"Get in the car."

Beth took a step towards the car and was successfully able to get in this time.

"You're in a funk," Rio observed. "How'd dinner with the fam go?"

"Great," Beth replied shortly. And it would have been great if she enjoyed having her on and off again boyfriend's family judge her and her family. Such a shame about your dad. You, poor thing. And your mom and her...problem. Word around town is your sister's pretty wild too. She got suspended for a week I hear. How in the world did such a sweet girl like you come from such a family?

"And you're one to talk...you're a little pissy yourself. And late." Beth spat.

"Dylan and I had a fight. I couldn't just leave in the middle of it."

"You two get into a lot of arguments," Beth noted.

"Yeah, but the making up isn't half bad," Rio retorted, a smug grin on his face.

Not wanting to hear about Rio and his stupid girlfriend anymore, Beth reached out and turned on the radio. "Let's just get this over with. I'm tired and I want to go to bed."

"You have the key?" Beth asked as she slid a pair of gloves on.

Rio patted his pocket. "Right here," he replied as he pulled a black knit cap on his head.

Quietly, they exited the car and started making the quarter of a mile trek to the Wilson's house. As they made their way, Beth's mind traveled back to the first time Rio had worn that hat.

It had been a Saturday, the first official day of Winter Break. Beth, her mom, and Annie were about to travel to Ohio to visit family for the holidays. Beth had told Rio the day before that she had all the used books ready for him. She'd been waiting at home all day for him to come over and pick them up. By eleven, she realized he probably wasn't coming over and had set about getting ready for bed. She decided she'd page him the next day and see if he could come and pick them up before her family left town Monday morning.

Grabbing a book and propping up against her pillows, she settled down for the night. Four pages in she heard the sound of a rock hit her window. Getting out of bed, she headed to her window and opened it, allowing Rio to climb through.

"You got the stuff ready?"

"Yeah," she said going to her closet and taking down three shoe boxes full of books. Rio quickly stuffed them in his bag and made to leave.

Staring at the red bag next to her desk, Beth thought what the heck and grabbed it.

"Wait," she said. "I got you something...a little Christmas gift."

Looking perplexed, Rio cautiously took the bag from her. "What?"

"It's not a hand grenade," Beth joked at his look of confusion. "It's just a little something I made. No big deal."

Rio threw the tissue paper into the waste bin by her desk and slowly took out the black cap she'd made him. "I just thought with how cold it is outside you might like something to keep your head warm and black's your favorite color so..."

Rio smiled and bit his lip. "Thanks." Putting it on, he asked, "How do I look?"

Beth reached up to straighten it. "It looks nice," she murmured, her eyes suddenly fascinated by his lips. Instead of returning her hands to her sides like she should have, she found them entwined around his neck. She slowly rose on her tiptoes. Her mouth brushed against his softly. Rio stood stock still. Pressing more intently, Beth internally willed him to respond. Bravely, she stuck out her tongue and flicked the seam of his lips. That seemed to do the trick because Rio's mouth opened and quickly began to devour hers.

His arms wrapped around her frame. And not feeling close enough to him Beth moaned softly as she wrapped herself around him even tighter. Their mouths stayed linked together for endless seconds until one of them needed a gasp of air before diving right back in.

Beth wasn't quite sure how but she'd landed on her back with a brooding Rio hovering over her and looking her up and down like he wanted to gobble her up. His mouth began to travel placing kisses against her jaw line and down her neck. Beth particularly liked the neck kisses and put both of her hands on the back of his head to keep him there a minute.

It wasn't long before the traveling kisses started up again. Down her shoulder and headed towards her breastbone. Rio slowly unbuttoned the first button of her plaid pajamas and the next, giving him a little preview of her well-endowed form. His hands slowly crept upwards, gently cupping her. Beth gasped at the sensation. A third and fourth button slipped out of their holes, fully exposing her to Rio's raw and needy gaze. Her heart pounding. She'd never thought her first time would be like this. She'd never wanted to before, but tonight she felt ready, more than ready. It felt as if her heart and lungs had stopped working as she watched in awe as Rio slowly lowered his head.

Then, as suddenly as it all started, it all ended with the sound of persistent beeping.

"Aw, sh—" Rio moaned, resting his forehead against hers for the briefest of seconds, the black cap she'd made him still on. "I gotta go."

He'd left and she'd buttoned up her pajamas. She'd spent the rest of the break waiting until she could see him again and spent her days and nights indulging in impossibly girlish fantasies of kissing him again, of going out on dates, of being his girlfriend.

But, oh, how that had come crashing down. The first day back at school Rio had acted like nothing had happened at all. Like he wouldn't have been her first if he'd stayed only thirty minutes longer. Nope, it was back to business as usual - all about the money.

So Beth licked her wounds the only way she knew how by agreeing to go out with Dean again. He said he missed her and that he was sorry for embarrassing her like that in front of their classmates. Beth had forgiven him and they'd been back together for the past two months.

Shortly after Beth had gotten back with Dean, Rio had started dating Dylan, a gorgeous, slender black sophomore that Beth was more than a little jealous of. Did Rio prefer skinny girls? Were her curves too much for him? Did he not find her attractive? Is that why he'd never try to make a move again?

Shaking herself out of her reverie and her insane obsession with Rio and his girlfriend, Beth slid against the side of the Wilson's house.

Quietly unlocking the door, they crept inside. They were able to get the job done quickly since Beth already knew where the valuables were. Once they had what they came for, Rio locked up the place and returned the key to its place above the back door.

Rio and Beth walked back to his car in silence with Beth still pondering why he'd kept the hat she'd made him.