Chapter Ten: And I Won't Put My Hands Up and Surrender

Angela

This Jacob guy was really getting to know me, really trying and I was like trying to let him in a little just in case Jordan showed up. I kept looking back at the door in between bowling turns and I started getting nervous.

God, why was I so nervous? He probably wouldn't even show up or he might even bring that girl with him, or knowing Jordan, it could even be like … a different girl. It all bothered me so much. I didn't want to like not show that I liked him as much as I did.

I started shaking just thinking about it. What would I say if he showed up? What if I waited here like an idiot and he never came?

As Jacob turned to face me and talk, I like really tried to stay focused on him and what he was doing, but I was thinking about Jordan Catalano. Heavily.

Danielle was tagging along in the background, Brian was ... doing whatever he did, and I kept watching the doorway. We even sacrificed the good lane just so I could like see if he was here. Did he get the memo? Did Brian tell him? I had to find out.

"You look preoccupied." Brian whispered to me once Jacob has taken his bowling turn.

"Yeah I am ..." My voice trailed off as I wasted no time solving the Jordan mystery. "Brian, Who did you tell about bowling?"

"Bowling ... Didn't we just decide on doing that?" He responded, much to my dismay.

"Yeah. You're right." I answered as Danielle took her turn. I noticed her, but I wasn't really seeing her or anything. Jacob must've noticed because he came up behind us, whispering into my ear, startling me. My short shivered quickly transformed into one huge jolt.

"Are you cold?" Jacob carefully placed his jacket around my shoulders. Cute college boy straight ahead. Pay attention Angela.

I looked up at him and smiled. "I'm okay." I finally decided to say, noticing that he was now sitting closer to me but … it didn't feel like weird or anything. I decided that I deserved this. College boy and me holding hands was okay because Jordan hadn't promised me … anything.

"So, you're on babysitting duty?" He asked, referring to Danielle.

"How do you know? Most people think she's older than I am." I answered freely really liking how this was going, so much so that I reached out for his hand. "They know better when she opens her mouth…"

"So, what time do you have to have her back?"

"She's not exactly the problem. The brooding blonde over there doesn't trust you. He like thinks your bad news and when he goes away, so will she."

"Oh." Jacob answered, catching my eye suddenly. We were engaged in like this intense gaze that was reminiscent of me watching Jordan hoping that he would soon watch me.

"Angela, it's your turn!" Brian yelled with a scowl as I smiled back at Jacob. He was totally believing that I was like … older … like probably eighteen years old or something.

"I'll be right back Jacob--"

"Actually, you can call me Hayden. Jacob is what strangers call me." He smiled, hinting that he like wanted to be more with me. I smiled, but as soon as I did, I felt a prick of guilt.

Jordan was still fresh on my mind, but after I took my turn and curved my body to face Hayden-Jacob's, I realized that if Jordan cared he would've like … been here or at least called…

So later that night, after we finished our game, when Hayden caressed my face and constantly made ever effort to make sure our bodies were touching, I didn't resist it. In a way I felt like I was cheating on Jordan and as much as I felt remorse for it, I like wanted to get back at him. Even if he wasn't there to see it, I would know that I'd let another guy touch me like Jordan always did.

Jordan

That party was like majorly stupid. Stupid. It was just like all the others, except that Angela wasn't there and Rosa wasn't picking up. Rosa's like the Angela substitute for me and sometimes more than that because I can like get her to do whatever I want, like whatever…

That's always good to know. I can like bail on her, ditch her, treat her … whatever … and she doesn't care. It doesn't like matter to her and it's easy. Angela is not so easy. She's .. I can't quite decide what she is, but it's a fun game for me. I want to figure it out and figure her out.

I want her to like be there so that I can go back to her whenever I want. But tonight, I was going to go to this bowling thing and like … steal her away. I smiled, still partly high from the marijuana and other shit I'd just finished smoking.

When I burst into the bowling alley, confidently, I saw Angela's red hair instantly. It like … called to me or something. I would've approached her right away, but I saw her hands holding onto some other guy's hands. And he was like touching her and stuff…

I was going to walk out. I was going to walk away and make Rosa come see me and give me a dose of her physical therapy but then … she turned around and recognized me. I watched her eyes go from guilt to surprise to joy.

"Jordan, what are you doing here?" She wondered, walking up to me in her dorky bowling shoes.

"You invited me." I whispered, walking halfway behind her and hugging her from behind. She giggled softly and then turned to look at me. "You hair…"

"I know. I'm still not used to it myself." Angela looked down at the floor shyly. Why did she do that? She didn't have to. She wasn't a nobody like me. Angela Chase like … meant something.

"Can you bail with me? For a sec?" I asked as she nodded, eagerly bumping me into an empty wall and looking at me longingly. I kissed her immediately, without hesitating, allowing my hands to touch all over her as much as possible.

I could feel the softness of her face, the warmth on her back, the thin bones of her hips. In those few moments I allowed myself to kiss Angela, like really kiss her. Slowly. I took my time. I wanted it to last… it wasn't like a quick 'get it done' mission, but something that warranted like as much touching as possible.

"Jordan…" She breathed as I eased up a little. "What are we doing?"

"Kissing." I responded, wrapping my arms around her to draw her back in.

"No. We can't … I'm like on a date." That last word like crushed me. Seriously. I pulled on my jacket, straightening it out, and then reached in my pocket for a cigarette.

"What are you doing?"

"I should like…. go."

"No. Don't." She begged. "Please … you can join us. We'll do another game and everything…" She offered. I shrugged in response, looking at the pay phone in the back.

"You got a quarter?"

"Sure." Angela looked around frantically as I resisted reaching out and touching her again. It felt so good … like illegal good. Better than the shit I've rolled up and smoked good.

She carefully placed the money into my palm, both of us still breathing loudly. Without saying another word or looking at her like I really … cared or anything, I walked away towards the phone.

"Rosa … I need you to meet me someplace … now…"

Rosalie

"Rosa, I'd like you to meet Graham Chase…" Mom introduced me as I flicked him off in response.

"You're a sorry excuse for a father … and a husband." I scolded him immediately. If he thought I needed a father, he was wrong. I had lived sixteen years without one and the last thing I wanted was someone trying to tell me what to do.

"Rosa--"

"Do NOT apologize for me or try to excuse my behavior. Graham … I'm just telling you what you're going to hear from your wife once she finds out." I snorted at him bitterly.

"Okay … now that we've done the introductions, why don't you tell Rosa what's been going on Graham?"

"Umm … Rosa--"

"You don't get to call me that."

"Okay. Sorry." He stumbled over his words like an idiot. I found it hard to believe that two women were capable of being in love with this fool at the same time.

"Ro.."

"Rosalie. Call me Rosalie."

"Rosalie, as you know … your mother and I have been seeing a lot of each other. And it's gotten to the point where we've been thinking about taking it to the next level."

"Marriage?" I asked, cynically. They couldn't be serious, could they?

"Actually, you're not too far off. I've asked Graham to move in with us." Mom stepped in.

"You haven't." I gasped. "Are you serious? Why … Dear God, why?"

"Stop being dramatic. You're finally getting a normal family--"

"NO… I'm taking someone else's … don't you have a daughter or son Graham?"

"Two … actually, I probably should've told them first before coming here--"

"Ya think?" I snapped back, pissed that I was missing a party for this. I could've been hooking up with some gorgeous guy, but I was here playing house. "I am curious about why you want to move in? How long have you been seeing each other anyway?"

"Well, honey as you know … I've known Graham for over sixteen years and we've been seeing each other for the last eight months."

"So since summer, basically?" I rolled my eyes. "Summer romances are for single, unattached teenagers … not daughters of hippies and Baby Boomers." I remarked, looking at Graham. He had to be in his late forties and my mom was just under thirty-five. Gross.

"Let me explain this to you Rosa. Just shut up and listen."

"No. I won't listen…" I shook my head defiantly. "You don't need to tell me why we're meeting because I already know. There's another little Rosa in the oven, right mom? Graham wants to move in to clear his conscious about poor fatherless me by making it up to whatever demon child is growing in your belly. And I don't want anything to do with it."

"Rosalie, please wait." Graham stood up suddenly, reaching for me.

"Don't touch me." I started to walk out and only stopped to answer the phone. "All right … I'll be there. Give me a minute." Grabbing Graham's car keys off the front counter, I rushed out of the house and to meet Jordan. I was in need for a quick Rosa-Jordan tryst anyway.

Danielle

"Sorry about that." Angela came back, without scruffy guy, with her lipstick looking a little less fresh and seeming disheveled, physically and mentally.

"Sure you are." I watched Brian look at her with jealousy in his eyes.

"So, Brian … I totally read that Dangerous Liasisons book you told Angela about. It's fascinating." I gushed, leaning over the bowling ball rack, hoping that he could see whatever budding cleavage I didn't quite have.

"That's nice." Brian was looking at the ground, obviously frustrated with everything.

I tried slinging my hair over my left shoulder like I had seen Cindy Crawford do in her jeans ad, but Brian barely flinched and I ended up hurting my neck a little. With a sigh, I resigned myself to sitting beside him with my hand hovering over his.

The next few minutes were a repeat of the earlier ones, with Brian pining after Angela, who was being schmoozed by college boy until a girl burst into the bowling alley with an energy that screamed sex.

My jaw dropped as scruffy guy came out from the shadows and the two engaged in a tongue bath. Angela cringed, dropping the bowling ball on Brian's foot and he jumped around, panicked. After that, I didn't see what else happened because I was determined to help Brian.

I could already guess. Scruffy guy would kiss Angela when sex girl wasn't looking and when Angela turned away, he'd sneak off in a corner with sex girl, leaving Angela with college boy.

Rosa

"There's no way you can go with us to the party Brian." Angela declared as he kept staring at her. Overprotective.

"I think Brian should do whatever the hell he wants." I commented.

"Well, no one like asked you." Angela's mini-me chimed in.

"There's an age minimum and you don't fit it." I responded.

"And since Danielle can't go home alone and Brian is injured, then he has to take her home, right?" Angela nudged Brian who nodded weakly. Funny. I don't even remember her apologizing to Brian.

I think she said something along the lines of 'God Brian, watch where I'm stepping' … or if she didn't, it looked like just the kind of thing a privileged white girl like herself would say. Angela stared at Jordan, searching for answers and I didn't even bother clinging to his arm.

I wasn't his girl, but I did know that no innocent face or chemistry he had with another girl had ever stopped him from meeting me in our secret hiding places.

As Brian left with the sister, Angela snuggled up closer to the other guy and I turned to face Jordan for a second. "You called me for this drama."

"No. You know why I called you."

"But that's no fun for me … you have to do something for me before I do something for you." I moved in closer to Jordan, playing with the button on his pants.

"Fine." He pushed me off and walked closer to Angela, crossing his hands in front of his chest. "Angela … are you going to the party with us?"

"Actually, we're going to a different party." The guy answered.

"I'm sorry … who are you?" I inquired with a smirk. It was fun to say what everyone else was thinking.

"Jacob. And I'm taking Angela somewhere else."

"Good. I'd love to go somewhere new." I agreed, defusing the situation before the two of them went to blows over that Princess Diana wannabe. "Come on Jordan." I pulled him into me, kissing him lustfully and then smiling afterwards when I saw how pissed he looked. That would hurt poor Angela's feelings. So what?

Angela

I looked around at the party. Everyone was making out, like we were back in middle school or something except that I knew it wouldn't stop at kissing. I knew that it would go way further than I was ready to go with anyone, much less a guy I had just met, not matter how cute he was.

When he took me through an upstairs bedroom outside on the balcony, I was relieved. It showed me that he wasn't just trying to like get something out of me. We talked for a little bit, but it was just fun … well, as fun as it can get when your mind is like constantly focused on someone else.

By the time we started kissing … it wasn't even Hayden who provoked it, but me, by the time we were kissing, I couldn't like remember what I'd had to drink or if this was the same party where Ricky and Rayanne went. I kissed him strongly, trying to force myself to feel something from him that I just like … couldn't.

He took this as a sign to start taking off clothes, which I didn't seem to notice much until he started tugging on my dress and the tights I was wearing underneath them.

"Ha-Hayden, I think we should stop." I begged as he paused and then kept kissing me.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of you … it'll be fun."

"No, you don't get it … I don't want to."

"Sure." He laughed again and kept tugging until the tops of my tights were further and further away from my thighs.

"No … Hayden … don't." I struggled to sit up, but he pushed me back down, forcefully. From there, I kept fighting and struggling as much as I could. I screamed and kicked, pounded and scratched but it was as useless as hitting a brick wall. Not for one second did I stop. I wasn't going to make this easy for him.

For a moment he eased up and I realized that both of his hands were working on his pants.

"Please." I begged, now crying. It was real now. I prayed to God to make it stop. Make Hayden drop dead. Make the cops show up … something.

Instead, I was faced with a horrible realization … until Jordan Catalano showed up. Hayden was yanked off of me with such force that I had to blink to make sure that it wasn't imaginary. There was a brief scuffle and then Hayden was being pounded over and over and over.

"Jordan…." I breathed, my voice cracking.

"Angela …. Are you…"

"Don't kill him." I responded, shivering for no apparent reason.

"Let me take you home." Jordan reached for my hand, gently, not forcing himself on me, not using this as another excuse to get close to me.

When we'd left the balcony and the house, I broke down crying. I crumbled to the grass, a strange mix of screams and cries coming from my mouth. Jordan wrapped his arms around me as I buried my head into his shoulder. He rocked me back and forth until I could no longer cry, until every tear duct seemed to be empty.

"Are you ready to go home?"

"I can't go home … my mom can't know … can you take me to Rayanne's house?"

(A/N: I decided to make Jordan different from my other stories So Hard to Make Them Fly and Beautiful Goodbye so that I don't end up rewriting the same story! I hope you love it. Idk what the Angela-Jordan status will be, so if you have suggestions, share them. --NL)