Jo, Following Rico's lead away from the house, struggled to speak as they walked in a comfortable silence.
She was about to tell Rico why she was there when his phone rang. He quickly glanced at the screen before answering.
She knew it was Lacey by the elated expression on his face and she pretended not to listen even as she keened her ears intently on every word..
"Hey" Rico said sweetly his face blushing.
"Hey you" Lace said a smile in her voice" I was on my way to bed but I didn't want to forget to thank you again for springing for breakfast today". "I had a great time" she said.
"I did too and don't worry about breakfast". "I invited you so it was my treat". Rico replied "but if you're uncomfortable with me paying we can always go dutch tomorrow night.
He listened intently as Lace suddenly became silent. "I was really looking forward to going out with you BUT..." she said as Rico's heart constricted. "I got into it with my mom and I'm trying not to rock the boat so it might not be good hanging out tomorrow night".
"That works out perfectly then" he said jokingly
"Why"? she asked seeming confused
"Wait You didn't know" he said pausing for dramatic effect before saying. "Tomorrow just happens to be National Sneak out Sunday", making Lace laugh out loud."It's like a National Holiday". Missing it would be like.. unAmerican or something" he teased.
They simultaneously began laughing again and Jo had to quickly snuff out the irritated grimace forming hard lines around her mouth.
"Seriously though" he said soberly after they stopped laughing, "if you can't come out tomorrow I can come to you".
"No to that" she interjected" My mom just told me, despite my feelings on the matter that were having dinner with the Desai's". " "We'll be there all day quote unquote celebrating".
"Are you friend zoning me"? he asked his tone outwardly friendly but inwardly he remembered Danny's determined face and he was not feeling very friendly at all.
"Never" she replied. "Actually I was calling, hoping you would come with me as my date". "I don't think I can stand more than an hour there alone"
YES, Rico thought clearing his throat "Uh..What time" he said becoming hopeful again
"Around noon it's a Barbeque so I'll pick you up about a half an hour before, okay".
"Okay". "Until tomorrow then". He added smiling at the phone as if she could see him.
"Yep I'll be there". "Goodnight Rico" she said easing his name off her tongue seductively before hanging up..
Jo watched as Rico touched the phone to his head seeming lost in thought. Then remembering she was still there he cleared his throat straightening out his features.
"Sorry about that" he said quickly before slipping the phone into his pocket. "Anyway. I needed to talk to you about something". Its really important so since you're here would you like to take a walk with me down to the river".
At his mention of needing to talk, Jo's insides began doing bellyflops. She had come straight there after talking with Danny with the intention of finding her way back into Rico's heart and after listening to the way he talked to Lacey it was obvious that she had done it none too soon.
Jo admitted that her feelings for Rico weren't the same as the way Danny described his feelings for Lacey. There wasn't an indescribable pull or the urge to know every single detail about him.
But what she did feel was a connection. Like they had always known eachother even when she first met him at age 13. His unique perspective the first thing that had attracted her to him...
"Can Josephine Masterson report to the Guidance office please"! "Josephine Masterson report to the Guidance office please". "Thank You".
Jo heard her name being called out over the loudspeaker in between classes. She figured it was probably her counselor asking Jo when she would be available for their next session.
When she walked in, Mrs. Brian was there by the entrance waiting for her but before she could speak Jo asked "Mrs. Brian did you get the note I left you cancelling our session?
"Uhh". "Yes I did Jo "she said "but"..
"Well it's just that my parents, my dad mostly, thinks that I'm spending too much time dwelling on Tara Desai's murder so I'm not going to be coming to talk to you anymore.
Jo reached into her backpack quickly retrieving the letter her father had written and handing it to her counselor.
Mrs. Brian reached down placing the letter on the desk. "Well Jo, I will miss talking to you" she said smiling "but that's not the reason I called you down here". "This is Ricardo Ortiz" she said pointing to a skinny brown haired boy sitting in a chair near her desk who stood up awkwardly to join them as she mentioned his name. "and since he is in your scheduling block I thought that you could be his student guide". Then looking at the boy she said "Ricardo this is Josephine"..
"Rico" "Jo" they both said simultaneously correcting their names for Mrs. Brian before erupting into nervous giggles.
Mrs. Brian smiled inwardly happy at her decision to pair her favorite student up with the new student. Maybe it would help ease some of the loneliness she had been feeling.
"Alright then here's your schedule Rico" she said handing it to him "Your next class together is Math" she added addressing Jo as the warning bell went off.
"Uhh I hate math" Jo said walking out of the office without looking back as Rico trailed behind her juggling paperwork.
"Math can be fun " Rico said catching up to her. "To me its just like reading people".
"How does that work" Jo said smiling at him strangely
"Well okay. People are simply components reading them becomes easier when you realize their personality is just small parts that equal together to make a whole" he said. for instance describe me in 4 words"
"Strange, weird, new, and I'm gonna say interesting".
"Strange and weird are basically the same thing" he said
"Okay I'll keep weird, and no offense I'll add skinny.
"Okay" he said. "Now what you just did was make a formula. Weird plus new plus interesting plus skinny equals me if you add different descriptors the equation doesn't work.
"But there are plenty of people who are weird". Jo said
"Thats true" he said but they may not be interesting or new. "For example him" he said pointing to a brown haired boy with glasses picking up papers scattered all over the hallway while students walked around him pointing and laughing.
"That's Doug" Jo said
"Okay so Doug" Rico said "He's apparently weird, and interesting" he added with a laugh "but he is not new, if the bored reaction from the teachers are any indication, or skinny"
"Alright, Thats just one person". "What about her" Jo said intentionally pointing at Lacey as she walked by them with Regina Sarita, and Phoebe not even stopping to look in their direction.
Okay she's definitely popular, and gorgeous, kind of regal" he said a little awestruck "and ..and guarded".
"Guarded" Jo said a little surprised that Rico picked up that part of Lacey's personality. "Yeah I guess she is".
"Who is she" he said
"Oh just some popular airhead" Jo said smiling suddenly excited about Math and her new friendship as they walked to class together...
Jo smiled to herself coming out of the memory. That memory was the essence of what she had missed these 5 months, their friendship, their connection.
Now she felt an aching need to have that, the need to fill the emptiness that took over whenever she woke up in Tyler's arms and convinced herself that this was what she had wanted. The need to laugh and be on the inside of his jokes and safe in their booth sharing smiles and whispers and quiet comfort. The need to be with the one person who loved the person she was And the person she was becoming. The need to have , The need to have Rico, her best friend back in her life again.
As they continued walking she contrasted Danny telling her she was the most important person to him with Rico saying he loved her.
Danny's words lost all their meaning when it became apparent that she wasn't as important as Lacey or else she would've been the one he wanted.
Rico's words on the other hand began to mean so much more to her when she considered how many times he had been there for her while she was obliviously busy being there for Danny. Throughout their friendship his Actions had proven to her that he loved her..until now.
Tonight, she had to find out if he still did and from there she would make sure there was still a chance for them.
She leaned closer to him as they walked towards the river deciding on how she was going to make her move. Once they reached the river's edge Rico took off his jacket and laid it on the ground motioning with his head for Jo to join him as he sat down.
Scooting next to him she grew excited when Rico grabbed her hands and stared into her eyes. She looked at him and his brown eyes that crinkled at the corners, then on his soft pink lips that began to turn up into a nervous smile and she felt a warm rush of anticipation at the thought of how they would feel on hers deciding that now was the right time.
She leaned forward gently placing her lips on his. Rico surprised her by grabbing her head pushing her deeper into the kiss. His mouth tasted clean, and comforting. It was the taste of giggles and hugs. It was the taste of Christmas dinners and Family get togethers and first loves. It was the taste of Home and Jo relaxed as she kissed him contently nestling into the crook of his arm.
They continued softly exploring each others mouths like children learning to take their first steps. Jo's tongue teased Rico waiting for his to join hers before they danced together finding a comfortable rhythm.
His hand began to roam under her sweater finding its way over her bra. He slowly stroked her nipples through the material until they hardened into small pebbles. Then he tentatively reached under the cup to touch her bare breast squeezing it in his palm.
Jo suspected that his hesitancy was because he was still a virgin after a few minutes passed and he was still kissing her and palming her breast. She became impatient pulling up her sweater. She unbuckled the clasp in front of her bra releasing her breasts to the night air.
She climbed on top of him reaching down to unzip his khakis and slipped her hands into his pants wrapping her hand around his erection. Rico cried out in surprise jerking away from her. "Jo.. No.. No" he said gulping for air . "This isn't right".
"What .. Rico.. Why"? She asked becoming frustrated and raking her fingers roughly through her hair.
He quickly pulled up his zipper and adjusted himself, "Thats not why we came here". "We came here because I have to tell you something really important and I didn't want to risk anyone overhearing"
Feeling rejected Jo looked up rolling her eyes. Her underlying insecurity about Lacey taking Rico's heart just like she had taken Danny's began to surface and she snapped at him
"What is it Rico". "Umm let me guess I'm the most important person to you right". "That is up until something better comes along". "Something better like Lacey"she said sounding whiny and desperate even to her own ears. "Is that what you wanted to tell me"?
He looked at her incredulous shaking his head before looking out at the river. "That's not it at all Jo". "I meant what I said to you before.. even though I have to watch you love someone else.. But that isn't what i needed to tell you...".
"Rico.. I."
"Wait let me finish" he said taking a deep breath, and then another. When the quiet around them began to get awkward he said "Fuck it" to noone in particular before looking back at Jo a grave expression on his face.
"Jo..how much do you know about your mom"?
"What" she exclaimed pulling back from him.
He took another steadying breath before continuing "I need you to listen to me okay". "How do I say this... I found out something today about your mother... and the mayor"...
Jo knew it was a little childish to imagine that she would just show up at Rico's house and apologize to him opening up the way for him to declare that he still loved her and always would and somehow they would end up together at their old booth sharing a burger again safe in a place where noone could touch them.
She was halfway prepared for a conversation where Rico told her he had feelings for Lacey, but she had never ever prepared herself for a conversation about her mom and worse the idea of what he meant by her mom and the Mayor.
She furrowed her brows swallowing deeply.
Rico must've seen the hesitation in her face because he said "I know this is weird it was weird to me when my dad explained..
"Your DAD"! "ALRIGHT RICO, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON"? Jo shouted.
"Okay.. just let me explain. Okay.." he repeated as small beads of sweat gathered on his brow. "I'm still trying to sort this out".
" So earlier today I was sitting with my Dad and I noticed an old article that he was reading". "It had a picture of The Necklace on the cover, you know the one Danny's mom threw into the lake, and above the picture it said MARNA inc making waves in Manhattan". And there was picture of your mother standing with Mayor Rollins and they looked pretty cozy".
"What does that have to do with your dad". "My Mom just met him when he was recovering from the heart attack last year". .
"Look I'm not sure about how they met" he said interrupting her "My dad didn't say but before we moved here we used to live in Staten Island by the Hudson River and according to my Dad MARNA inc. was a huge shipping company in The city".
"Mayor Rollins was the CEO of the company with a lot of rumored ties to the White House and the Reagan Administration in the 80's. At the time my Dad worked there as head the of the Logistics Department".
"When he first took over the Department there were rumors circulating that MARNA inc was dealing in trafficking weapons". "Weapons that were later traced back to the Iran-Contra scandal".
"He was secretly contacted by the FBI, They told him that his identity would be protected and that they needed him to testify about the companies freight destinations and dates in a private Congressional hearing, But before he could, he told me that Mayor Rollins' people got to him". "He said things started happening around the warehouse".
"Faulty equipment started showing up and breaking down on his watch along with more frequent accident reports and complaints from the workers". "He was fired a month before the hearing for incompetence and a new, company appointed supervisor testified for him".
My Dads been paranoid ever since. When we moved to Green Grove he thought we had left all of that behind.
"MARNA inc"? Jo said dumbstruck "Thats the same company that Danny's dad owns in Connecticut" "But.." Jo struggled, trying to find an explanation "Maybe my mom and the Mayor's relationship had to do with something in Green Grove".
"I don't think so Jo" ."He said that your mother used to be their President of Human Resources and that she was Mayor Rollins right hand". "They were always together, that is until Vikram Desai came on board as a shareholder".
Jo knew it was coming and the part of her that wanted to maintain ignorance warned her to cover her ears or get up and walk away now before the last of her innocence was shattered. But the other part of her that was insatiably curious urged her to listen tantalizing her with the idea that she might finally get to the bottom of this mystery.
"She listened to the first voice abruptly getting up to leave, before turning around and sitting back down. "Just tell me everything Rico and don't hold anything back"!