Violence Begets... by Pt Denys, Myra Shelley

time Mike
had served his time, he wasn’t holding any grudges.
    *****
    The end-of-school party was at Kari’s
house, and Kevin didn’t bother to show up. Everyone was so much more laid back without
him around. Brett and I were even getting along okay. The best part of the night
was having Jessica at my side.
    Talk of being seniors and ruling the
school dominated the conversations. At one point, Brett and Mike got into it about
escargot. Brett swore up and down that people in France actually ate snails. Mike,
of course, dared Brett to eat one and Brett went out in the backyard and actually
found a handful of snails. He brought them back in and boiled the things. Then to
everyone’s disgust he plopped two on a cold piece of pizza and ate them, shell and
all. It was completely disgusting, and he had everyone rolling with laughter.
    The beers went down smoothly, and Jessica
and I smoked a joint together. It was such an easy night, no tension, no walking
around afraid of pissing Kevin off. At the same time, I knew I wouldn’t have any
of this without him. He could have just as easily cast me out, since he'd made me
part of this group in the first place.
    “What’s wrong, sweetie?” Jessica asked,
lacing her fingers around my neck.
    “Nothing.” I smiled for emphasis. “Just
thinking about next year. It’s gonna be great.”
    “Hey, I was thinking,” she began, then
hesitated. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think I want to see other people.”
My heart stopped in my chest.
    “What? Why?”
    “No, I mean, I still want to see you
but, you know, we’re young. I’m not really the 'settle down' kinda girl. I’d like
to be open to dating other people.”
    “Is there someone else?”
    “No, silly, but you know me. Free love
and all that. Life’s so beautiful and there’re so many people we can share our hearts
with. I just don’t want to limit either of us to only each other. I’m completely
into you…”
    “You mean, like an open relationship
or something?”
    “Yeah, exactly.”
    “Wow!” I almost laughed. I never thought
I’d be having this conversation with a girl. Wasn’t it always the guy who wanted
to do that kind of thing?
    “I’ve been upfront with you all along,"
Jessica continued. "I don’t want to ever settle down with one person. It’s
just not me. I still want to see you, but I just want to make sure you know that
I’m going to keep seeing other people as well. I’m going to let my heart be open
to everyone, not just you.”
    “I get it. I guess I’m cool with it,”
I said, surprising myself. I’d always been attracted to her open spirit. She was
kind and loving towards everyone, and I liked that. Who was I to try to take that
away from her?
    “Good!” she said, smiling broadly. “Then
I say we disappear for a while.” She tugged at my hands, pulling me up off the couch.
Leading me into a spare bedroom, she kissed me lightly as we fell onto the bed together,
but when she tugged at my shirt, I threaded my hands through hers, guiding them
away.
    “Why won’t you ever take your shirt
off?”
    “I’ve told you, self-conscious.”
    “But, it’s me. Are you going to leave
it on the whole time?” The way she said it made me think she was talking about going
all the way. I wondered if she meant she wanted to. I couldn’t take my shirt off,
not with what my dad had left.
    “Is that a condition?” I asked, scared
of what she’d say.
    “No, of course not. I won’t make you,
but maybe one day?” She smiled shyly and I kissed her again, my mouth tasting hers.
I took things slowly, simply kissing her until she started to pull herself closer
to me, curving her body into mine. I slid myself on top of her, gently resting my
weight on my arms while my hands slowly pulled at her shirt, making sure she was
really okay with what I wanted. She sat up a little, letting me take her shirt off
for her. She really was beautiful. I tried not to be nervous, paying attention to
what