Chapter 13

The Waterman twins were blocking our path back from the parking lot with a few of their friends. I took out my phone and set it to record before passing it to Zoe.

“What’s that hammer made of?” I asked Emma in a whisper before we got too close.

“Nothing durable,” she confessed. “Char and Mark never considered I might hit anyone with it.”

“As hot as you are, they didn’t think you’d need a Boy-Basher? Tsk, tsk, tsk,” I said in playful disappointment, but I really wished it was usable as a weapon right now. “Just hang back if they try to start anything. You can be charged for assault. I’m still underage. I’ll explain later.”

As we got closer, I looked at Emma and then glanced at Tricia significantly. She nodded and moved closer to her.

I nodded to the ringleaders. “Patrick, Vance,” I said. “Having a nice time at the dance?”

“What do you think, Russell?” Patrick sneered nastily. “Because of you, our favorite sluts aren’t here.”

“I don’t know who you’re talking about. I know Marlene was sent to live in Alaska, but I’m afraid I don’t know any other sluts,” I said evenly.

“The Powers whores aren’t here because you ratted them out, so I figure you can make it up to us with your new sluts.”

“Lana and Beck aren’t whores and they’re not sluts and why they’re not here is really a family matter. As for me having new sluts as you put it, I don’t have ANY sluts. I’ve never had sluts and like I said, I don’t even know sluts other than Marlene. I think you owe the young ladies an apology.”

“You have no idea. You know how much jizz those bitches have been hosed in?” He cackled nastily. I could smell the booze and some sort of acrid smoke off them. It wasn’t weed. I knew that smell, but it was some kind of drug.

“I’m really not the kind of guy that spends a lot of my time thinking about semen baths, but I guess you travel in different circles. I much prefer the company of women.”

It took him a minute to puzzle out what I’d said and when he did, he started getting angrier. “You think? Those cunts took it all and wanted more.”

“It’s easy to leave them wanting more when you have a tiny penis,” I said sympathetically to him. That made Zoe laugh. That could only make things worse. I decided that if we were going to the hospital again, I was going to earn it. “The truth is that after they left me, they couldn’t find anyone that can do the kind of quality work I do. It’s not just the sex. You could go get half the senior class and between all of you, you don’t have HALF the ability to make a girl feel like you give a shit about her. That doesn’t make a girl a slut. That means she knows she’s better than you and isn’t willing to settle. You’re pathetic and on your best day, you won’t be half the man I am on my worst day.”

That did it and he swung a huge overhand right. I took his wrist in both my hands and pushed him off-balance, before yanking it down and back. His momentum carried him forward and yanking his arm back caused him to flip over onto his back, all the air knocked out of him.

I put my boot on his throat and pulled my shield off my back. I fixed it onto my arm and looked at his friends. “You want to help him or you figure he pulled his own pants down for this?” I asked them casually, still pinning their leader to the ground with a foot on his throat.

“Get him!” Patrick croaked and I put a little more pressure on his throat, making him gurgle for air.

“Five on one?” I asked. “That sounds like justification to see how the shield holds up,” I warned them.

“It’s fucking plastic anyway,” Vance snarled and threw a hay-maker of his own at me.

I swung the shield to deflect the blow, but I still had to take my foot off Patrick’s throat or crush him under my boot. I backed away so they couldn’t get behind me and tried to reason with them.

“Look guys, there’s two ways we can do this. The easy way or the really easy way. I like the really easy way where you apologize to the ladies and promise not to talk about the Powers sisters like that any more.”

“I like the easy way,” Patrick said as he got to his feet. “Where we put you in the hospital and take your bitches.”

“That would be attempted murder and rape,” I told him. “And this talk makes it premeditated. You sure you don’t want to walk away?”

“Kill him!” Patrick snapped and they all started circling.

“You’re drunk and high right now,” I said, watching them get closer. “If you don’t walk away, I’ll do what I have to to protect the girls. Last warning. Walk away now or be carried away later.”

Patrick lunged at me and swung again overhand. I hoped the helmet survived as I put my head down. I was driven down and rolled with it, kicking back up to one knee after my tumble. Later, we’d look at it and think it was impressive as hell. YouTube would agree.

Patrick was screaming and shaking his hand while the others had taken the opportunity to rush me. Vance got a shield bash that put him down for the moment and then someone grabbed me from behind, lifting me up. The hadn’t pinned my arms though so when they turned me toward someone already mid-swing, I put up the shield and another hand broke with a sound like a gong.

“It’s a real fucking shield!” someone yelled and I swung underhanded across my back at the person holding me, feeling the edge of the shield bite deeply into flesh. I was amped up on adrenaline as I felt myself dropped back to my feet.

Patrick had a head of steam and had his head down to bull charge me. His hand was useless, but he knew if he could pin me, they’d finish me off. I hesitated a half-second and then threw the shield. I caught his knee just as he was bringing it forward. He crumpled to the ground as his legs went out from under him, skidding on his face with his shattered hand under him.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when the shield bounced back in my direction after taking Patrick’s leg out from under him. I grabbed it out of the air and all I could feel was my heart hammering in my chest. Patrick was out of the fight, Vance was out of the fight and the guy that had been holding me was still down. That left one guy with a broken hand and one guy who hadn’t gotten into the fight yet.

I could finally hear yelling in the background and turned, wondering who I was going to have to fight now. It was teachers and chaperons though, coming to break it up.

I relaxed and slid the shield onto my back before pulling off my helmet to check for damage. It was still pristine. I dusted it off and put it back on, latching the strap again. That was how the YouTube version ended.

I had to give my version of events several times between teachers, police and ambulance attendants. The video was played several times for the cops who wanted to take the shield and arrest me. A few phone calls had a DA down to the school to watch the video and decide that I wasn’t going to be charged. I told the police that the others had been drunk and smelled like they’d been smoking something they shouldn’t have been.

The surreal part came when we were asked to pose for pictures with the cops and the DA. We decided to call it a night at that point and since we still had over an hour, I told Tricia to call her dad to let her know we were going to get something to eat and then drop her off.

“He’ll say no and tell me to come home right now,” she frowned.

“Maybe, but we need him to trust that we’ll keep him informed. It’s a test for both of us. It’s a test of whether he can trust us and a test of whether he can let go. Trust me, it’s a good thing.”

She called and told her father that they’d be home on time, but everyone wanted to leave the dance to get something to eat before we ended the night.

She was surprised when he just made her promise to be home on time. We went to a McDonald’s that was open late and had a quick bite. The adrenaline was starting to wear off so I was cold all of a sudden. We watched the video again and all the girls were excited about it for some reason. I’d been scared out of my mind during most of it and was damn glad they hadn’t taken my shield.

We got back just in time for Tricia’s curfew and we walked her to the door where her father met her. She was babbling about the dance and the fight and me and it was all blending together as she tried to tell it all at once. She wanted my phone and showed the video to her father who watched it and then looked at me with an unreadable look.

“Those boys looked larger than you,” he said.

I nodded. “And they were high. Tomorrow they’ll probably regret their choices in life, but tonight they’re probably still angry.”

He seemed to come to a decision and looked at me pointedly. “I don’t like you,” he said. “Patricia does though. If you break any of my rules, she won’t be allowed to see you again. Understood?”

“Yes, Mr. Saunders,” I said humbly. “Can Zoe and Emma take Tricia out tomorrow? They want to take her to get her hair done and take her for a make-over day.”

“You won’t be there?” he asked.

I shook my head. “If they call me to have dinner with them I will, but this is a day out for the girls.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

“Thank you,” I said, offering him my hand.

He shook it reluctantly and then followed us out, sending Tricia off to get ready for bed.

“Why?” he asked when we were on the step. “Why tomorrow?”

I looked at the girls and then back at him. “Tricia’s a beautiful girl. She’s smart, she’s fun to talk to, she has a compassion to her that’s profoundly deep, but the one thing she lacks is confidence. She doesn’t see herself with the same eyes I do or Emma does or Zoe does. I think with time and the guidance of two equally beautiful and confident women, she’ll come out of her shell and be someone even more amazing.”

“You do lay it on thick,” he said sourly.

I shrugged. “The short answer is that I think she missed out on a few lessons on becoming a young woman that her mother would have taught her. I don’t know what happened to her, just that she’s not around. I asked Emma if they’d take care of her. She has a lot to offer the world, but she needs to realize it before she can.”

“Fair enough. She probably does need a woman to ask questions and teach her about make-up and things like that.”

With that, he went back inside and we went back to the house. The lights were on next door, so we went over to talk to them and let them know what had happened. They played the video on the TV in the living room and we all agreed that the backwards roll was impressive.

“I still have no idea how I did that,” I said, stunned when I threw the shield and caught it.

Lana and Beck were both teary-eyed and hugged me like I’d personally saved them from being attacked. I suppose I had defended their reputations, but I would have done the same for anyone.

Still, I felt like a hero for a moment. It was a good feeling. I’d felt like I’d screwed up far too often the past couple of months.

Patty and Dan both added their own hugs and thanks for looking out for their daughters.

“We’re gonna go put this on YouTube and link it to everyone we can think of,” Emma said.

“Link it to me!” Lana said immediately. “I’ll make sure everyone at school sees it.”

“In the morning,” I promised.

We went next door and I pulled off my gloves and the boots. There was a note on the table that Lilly was at a sleepover and there was a snack for us in the fridge. I recognized Patty’s writing and laughed at the mention of a snack.

Zoe was impressed with the rec room and I pointed out the game systems in the entertainment center “So don’t feel bad about taking the PS4,” I told them.

“You could sell it,” Zoe suggested and I laughed.

“Nah. I’d rather you guys had it,” I said lightly. “The money it’d bring in wouldn’t really make a difference.”

I led them back to my room and Zoe was surprised again at the look of the bed.

“Wha ... Why...” She kept trying to phrase what she wanted to ask, but kept stuttering to a halt.

“You didn’t tell her?” I asked Emma and she beamed.

“I figured that should be something you do,” she said brightly.

“During the summer I was dating four girls,” I said. “Then someone started a rumor about me, they believed it, they broke up with me and treated me pretty badly. That’s the short version.”

“The girls next door?” she asked.

I nodded. “The same Powers sisters the fight at school started over. When I finally found out what I was supposed to have done and we realized it was a lie, their parents grounded them so they weren’t at the dance tonight. Seeing me with three dates to myself and all five of those guys without even one between them must have been too much for them.”

“So you’re impeccably good to your ex-girlfriends even after a bad break-up?” she asked, skeptically.

“I told you,” Emma said. “If he was 18, he’d be perfect.”

“You’re biased,” I reminded her and kissed her softly.

She kissed me back and shook her head. She unhooked the chin-strap on my helmet and pulled it off, putting it on top of my dresser. “I’m not biased. You’re perfect. You fought five guys because they said they were going to rape us. You defended the reputations of those girls when you didn’t have to. You asked us to help build Tricia’s self-esteem and you welcomed us both into your life when you barely know Zoe.”

“I know you love her,” I said. “That’s all I need to know.”

She smiled and kissed me again, this time slowly stripping me out of the suit I’d worn all night. I held my hand out to Zoe and she came forward, kissing me as Emma finished stripping me. I stood there in a pair of shorts while the two of them kissed me and each other, back and forth.

I had two pairs of hands caressing my chest and shoulders and I was glad I’d followed the training program, just as I’d been glad I’d picked up dance lessons at Dan’s insistence. They seemed to approve of the muscle I’d built the past two months.

I reached up and started slowly drawing Zoe’s zipper down to her waist, baring more and more of her beautiful creamy skin. It was almost translucent and I could see the blue of her veins beneath the skin. I was kissing her deeply, my tongue playing with hers and I moved one hand to her belt, feeling the catch as my other hand stroked her beautiful skin from her neck, between the slopes of her breasts and over her smooth stomach. She was sighing softly and I knew that the soft gentle touches were getting to her. She gasped every time my fingers brushed the insides of her breasts.