Playing Patience

Five

Zeke



“You going to class?” Chet asked, as he passed me a joint.

We were lying in the back of my El Camino, getting high in the school parking lot.

“I doubt it. You?” I took a deep draw and held it.

“Pfft, hell no. I’ve had enough schooling for the week. Let’s go grab something to eat, man. I’m f*cking starving my ass off. I’d give my left nut for a burger and a milkshake right now.”

We ended up at the McDonald’s by Finn’s house with half of the dollar menu lying across the dash of my car.

“So, that chick Megan is coming out Friday to watch us play. I hope she wears that tight-ass schoolgirl uniform.” He made a growling noise in the back of his throat. “Dude, that shit is f*cking hot. Hey, maybe she’ll bring your girl with her. You know the blonde. If she can stay sober long enough maybe you’ll get lucky,” he joked.

“Please. That chick’s as straight as they come. I’d have to drug her, too, to get her to put out.” We laughed.

Later that night, we played at Finn’s for two hours before I finally headed home. When I got there, Dad wasn’t there, which meant he was out on a call, towing a car for someone. I went inside, heated up two packs of oodles and noodles, then fell onto the couch to watch some TV and eat. I had just finished my noodles when I heard my dad pull up. I threw my bowl in the sink and went to take a shower.

That night he didn’t f*ck with me. I guess he was too exhausted from work to even bother. I wish they’d work him to death more often. Shit, I wish they’d just work him to death… period. I fell asleep in a pair of boxers with my radio on and dreamt of the blond girl and her strange blue eyes.

By the time Friday rolled around, I’d missed two days of school and was so broke I barely had enough gas money to spit in my gas tank. I’d been to every business in town trying to get a job, but the tattoos and piercings weren’t accepted by most. Instead, I found myself on the front porch of Javier, the local dope dealer. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and if I wanted to have gas money and food I needed some cash. Dad worked, but he was the stingiest son of a bitch alive and I was old enough to take care of myself.

I left Javier’s place with an ounce of weed. He didn’t want to start me out with too much, even though I’d told him I could have that sold in less than thirty minutes at The Pit. I had to start somewhere. An ounce of weed today would be a pound of blow tomorrow. Either way, it was money in my pocket.

I showered, got dressed, and drove over to The Pit. The band was already setting up by the time I got there and there were already at least twenty people at the bar. It wasn’t long until we were up on stage playing our asses off for a roomful. I played until my fingers ached and took a swig from my beer every chance I got. It was a good night. I was playing my heart out and later, once everything was settled, I’d sell this weed and get my money.

I scanned the crowd and saw a few familiar faces. A cute brunette in the front caught my attention. She looked up at me with flirty eyes and licked at her bottom lip. She was cute, not sexy, but she’d do. I took note of where she was in the crowd before I moved on. A flash of white hair crossed my vision and my eyes landed on a petite blonde. From behind, the girl reminded me so much of that Patience chick, but this girl was in a tight pair of ass-hugging jeans and the sexiest halter top I’d ever seen.

My eyes traveled down the back of her, past the ends of her long, sandy hair, and landed on her luscious ass. I got so turned on that I played the wrong chord. That earned me a pair of bug eyes from Finn, but no one in the room seemed to notice but my band mates. Her slender shoulders and her back were fully exposed. A tiny mole on her shoulder blade stuck out and for a second I imagined running my finger across it. Her milky shoulders moved up and down as she bounced with the music.

Every dip and curve of her body could be seen through her tight skinny jeans and I knew in that moment there was no way this was the same girl that I found on the bathroom floor. The girl that came to my house and nervously fiddled with everything as she quietly mouthed the words “thank you” would never be caught dead wearing such revealing clothes.

Cute brunette in the front row forgotten, I honed in on the sexy, blond girl. I’d never mess with such a straight-laced girl like Patience, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t dip my stick in a chick that reminded me of her. Then the girl turned and her perfectly shaped nose and shimmering blue eyes came into focus. From up on stage, I watched as Patience danced and laughed with the group of girls around her, including her friend Megan. Instantly, I was pissed off that it was her.

One, she had no business coming back around here. She didn’t belong here and her being here was a danger to all of us since she was the governor’s daughter. Two, she looked entirely too sexy to be such a sweet, innocent girl. She was headed straight for trouble with those tight jeans and that tiny top. And three, I was pissed because it meant I wasn’t going to get some hot, blonde action tonight. Had it been some other cute blonde, then fine, I would have spent my night making her say my name, but not her; I wouldn’t put my hands on the khaki, snowflake princess.

I turned my attention away just in time to see the room get flooded with cops. Me and the boys knew the drill and we had unplugged and dipped many times before since we played in some pretty shady places. Just as I was about to unplug and grab my shit, I looked up and saw a flash of blond being pushed around in the crowd. I knew right away it was Patience.

Cussing myself, I set my guitar down and jumped off the stage. She was so tiny and I could see her being trampled to death. I made a plan as I pushed through the crowd toward her. I’d grab her, grab my guitar, and get the hell out through the back.

Just as I was about to grab her, she was pushed to the ground. I watched as she tried to get up but was stepped on. Then, there was a cop scooping her up. I pulled back and ran straight into another cop who threw my arms behind my back and cuffed me. I looked over to see Finn shake his head at me as he grabbed my guitar and ran out the back. At least I knew my guitar was safe.

After the cop cuffed me, he pulled me outside. The cool night air rushed through my hair and gave me a chill. The cop pushed me against the car and I found myself right next to Patience. She looked up at me with frightened eyes and I could only imagine how this felt for her.

“First time being arrested?” I asked casually, like we were at a diner instead of waiting to be thrown in the back of a cop car.

“Yes,” she squeaked.

She looked so afraid. For some strange reason this girl played on my conscious and I felt bad for her. I wanted more than anything to unlock her handcuffs and let her scurry home. I wanted to make her feel better, so I said the first thing that came to mind.

“Well, I wouldn’t worry about it. Your dad will have you out in no time.” I shook my head. “Me, on the other hand, I’ll be there for the night.”

I didn’t miss the sudden change in her expression, except it wasn’t an expression of relief. She should have been relieved knowing that her dad would make everything okay for her, but instead, an expression of pure fear filled her eyes. I was about to question that expression, but then I remembered the quarter bag of weed I’d taken out of the ounce and stuffed in my back pocket to sell while I was at The Pit. In that moment, I knew I’d be spending more than one night in jail.

“Shit,” I said out loud.

“What?” she asked.

“I just remembered I have some weed on me,” I whispered. “Looks like I’ll be in jail for a while.”

“Drugs are bad for you.” She batted big blue eyes up at me.

“So is going to the wrong side of town,” I snapped. “But you just can’t seem to resist, can you?”

“You don’t have to be so mean to me, you know? I’m actually a pretty smart girl. I know coming to this side of town isn’t safe for a girl like me, but I also know it’s not safe for my friend Megan, either. If she comes, then I come. It’s called being a good friend, a*shole.” She came back at me, then cut her eyes.

A girl had never looked so sexy. She called me on my shit and then threw it back in my face. I had to admit, it was a massive turn-on. The fact that she was in those low-rise, tight jeans and that sexy-ass black top didn’t help matters. Then she did something that someone had never done for me before and blew my mind and pissed me off all at the same time.

“Where’s the weed?” she asked a little too loudly, making me shush her.

“Shit, why don’t just go over there and tell the cops about it instead of yelling it?” I said sarcastically. “It’s in my back pocket. I’m sure they’ll find it, but on the off chance that they’ll find it in their hearts to let us go, let’s not mention it.”

She turned away from me and toward the officers who were still busy bringing out people from The Pit. Most got away, but there were still the weak ones who were caught. That’s what this girl did to me; she made me a weak one. I’d never been caught in a raid before, but stopping to help her got me caught and I was going to go to jail, while her daddy got her off the hook.

“Hey, officer! Can you come here, please?” she yelled across the parking lot.

I couldn’t believe it! After all I had done for her; she was going to seriously tell them about the drugs. What a bitch! A young cop stopped what he was doing and worked his way over to us.

“Ma’am, you’re going to have to wait until we get everything taken care of here and then we’ll let y’all have a seat in the back of the car,” the cop said.

“No, I need to confess something!” she said in a rush. She motioned in my direction and rolled her eyes and exaggerated a sigh. “My boyfriend here is trying to play the hero, but he’s got my weed in his back pocket and I don’t want him to get in trouble for me. I know he loves me and all, but I wouldn’t feel right about it, ya know?” She darted her eyes in my direction, then quickly looked away.

I stared openly at her with my mouth hanging open. It was a rarity that someone shocked me, but the little snowflake girl had landed me speechless. No one had ever taken a hit for me. Grown men had refused to fight for me and here she was playing the tiniest hero. I couldn’t let it happen, but an unwanted rush of pride ran through my system at her words. Why I’d be proud of a practical stranger, I don’t know, but I was.

I said the first words that came to my mind. “I’m not her anything and the drugs are mine.”

A pink flush rushed up her neck and spread across her cheeks. She looked as if she’d been slapped in the face before she turned her back to me. She had to know I wasn’t some punk who would let a woman take my charges.

The cop looked between us and shook his head. “Whatever you say,” he said as he started to pat me down. He reached into my back pocket and pulled out the bag of weed and ticked his teeth. “Looks like your little female friend got you busted, buddy.” Then he opened the door to the police car and lowered my head into the back seat.

Patience joined me in the back, but she wouldn’t look at me. I didn’t say anything to her. There was nothing to say. I guess technically I could thank her for trying to take up for me, but then again, had she not said anything they may have never found it in the first place.

The drive to the police station was awkward and silent. The cops chatted in the front seat about an underground drug problem and The Pit being the center of it. I wasn’t surprised, but it still sucked that we were losing our favorite place to play. These things happened, though, and soon there’d be another place and they’d call us to play. Until then, we’d play in the garage and our groupies would collect there.

The police station was full of Pit people. Tattoos and piercings as far as the eye could see. This wasn’t strange in a place like The Pit, but in a police station surrounded by white walls and police, they stood out. They sat Patience and me in a room alone and still she said nothing as she sat across the table from me. The room was the same room they’d put me in when they thought I drugged her. Funny… every time I get mixed up with this girl I end up in a police station.

“You should’ve just let me take it.” She finally spoke.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. “I’m no bitch, snowflake. I couldn’t let a girl take my drug charges, especially the governor’s daughter.”

“My name’s Patience.” She smacked the top of the table. “And I don’t know how you know I’m the governor’s daughter, but that’s the main reason why you should’ve let me take the charges. There’s no way my dad would let me sit in jail for long. He’d bail me out as soon as possible, but you’ll have to stay.”

“It’s done. Plus, we wouldn’t want to ruin your perfect record. What would Harvard think?” I pretended to be appalled.

“Are you always such a rude ass?” She nervously picked at her nails.

I leaned my chair back in the corner, rested my head against the wall, and closed my eyes. “Always.”

The room stayed silent after that. I could hear her anxiously fiddle with the table and the little cup of water she was given. Then I heard the door open. I opened my eyes, but I was tucked away in the corner behind the open door and couldn’t see anything. When the door closed, I could see Patience standing before her dad, the governor. His back was to me and I was sure he didn’t know I was there.

He towered over her and I watched as she physically cowered in fear. I didn’t like to see her react that way. She was supposed to be my tiny savior. She had thrown herself in front of the metaphorical police train for me, yet here she was, cowering in fear in front of the one person in the world who was supposed to protect her. Maybe he was a strict man. Actually, thinking back to how he had acted the first time I met him, I was almost positive he was a strict man.

Then he shocked me when he reached out and pinched her cheeks with his hand. He squished her lips up as his thumb dug into one side of her face and the rest of fingers dug into the other side. She tried to pull away, but it only made his fingers dig deeper. I was on the edge of my seat, ready to pull him off of her, when he spoke.

“This is a new look for you, daughter. Who knew you were this wild girl? I wish I had known.” His voice was soft and menacing. He leaned in and got closer to her face. She tried to turn her head away, but his grasp was turning her cheeks red. “Is this what you like? Do you like the rough side of things?”

I stood abruptly and her eyes flittered to mine. I’d had about enough of his bullshit and if he didn’t take his hand off of her, I was going to remove it for him. He released her quickly and turned to me. Surprise at seeing me there dashed across his expression, but then the calm, cool politician slipped back in place. I suddenly had a deep hate for the man standing in front of me, a f*cker who manhandled his daughter and dug into her silky, untouched cheeks. The bastard! I bet he hit her.

Thinking of that and knowing the extent of what it felt like to be beat by your father had my blood boiling. Me, I could take a man’s ass beating, but not snowflake. She was delicate and seeing how petite she was and seeing how he towered over her just pissed me off more.

“Ah, our little friend Zeke. I should’ve known you’d have something to do with this.” He motioned to Patience’s clothes.

“Dad, he had nothing to do with me being at the club.” She came to my defense again, but I wanted to dig into him in any way I could as payback for touching her.

“Of course I had something to do with it. What can I say? I can’t stay away from her.” I lied.

I heard Patience gasp from beside him as I met his stare. I didn’t even think about the effects my little statement would make on her, but I enjoyed the expression that crossed his face. His jaw ticked and I knew I’d hit a nerve, and then an intimidating smile spread across his face.

“She’s definitely a special girl. However, I’d prefer it if you stayed away from my daughter.” He put a protective arm around her waist and pulled her closer to his side.

It pissed me off even more that he was now pretending to protect her from me. He was the one that was obviously a danger to her, while I had only tried to help her. I could feel the heat of my anger on the back of my neck. I flexed my fists and weighed the charges that would be slammed against me if I knocked this f*cker on his ass.

“I’ll try, but I can’t make any promises. She’s pretty addictive and I have one hell of an addictive personality.” I hit him with another dig.

Patience stared at me, mouth gapped open in shock.

“Dad, he’s fooling around. We barely even know each other,” she said with wide eyes as she looked up at her father.

His face had now taken on a deep-red hue.

I put my hand over my chest like I was hurt. “After all we’ve been through, snowflake. That cuts deep. I’d like to think I know you pretty damn well,” I said as I purposely looked up and down her slim figure.

Her face turned as red as her dad’s and she threw her hands in the air.

“Stop it, Zeke! He’s going to think you’re serious!”

Finally, I’d had enough and I was starting to worry that maybe I’d made things worse for her.

“Whatever you say, princess,” I said as I fell back into my chair and spread my legs out in front of me.

Crossing my arms, I peered up at both of them through my hair. I bit on my lip ring and watched as she looked up at her Dad. Her eyes were wide with fear and I suddenly felt sick to my stomach thinking about her possibly getting hit when she got home.

“I’m just screwing around,” I spit out.

Her dad looked down at her, then grabbed her hand.

“Patience, we’re leaving.” He then turned back to me. “Son, I think you need to get yourself straight. You’re headed nowhere fast.”

“I’m not your son,” I snapped. “And where I’m headed is none of your business.”

He said nothing as he turned to leave the room. Patience looked over her shoulder at me and I didn’t miss the worry in her eyes. I didn’t like it. I wasn’t her concern. I turned away and heard the door click as it shut behind them.

Three days later, I left the jailhouse with a pretty hefty fine, sixty days worth of community service, and a phone full of text messages from Javier wanting to know where his product was.