Chapter 15

For the rest of that week, and most of the next one, Mike kept to himself, preferring that to the company of his friends. He had grown tired of answering their questions about what was up between Jennie and him. Jennie wasn't helping things either, trying to talk with him, and even passing him notes in the classes that they shared together.

She didn't seem to be able to understand that he was through with her, and that he didn't want to have anything more to do with her. The more he tried to ignore her, the harder she tried. He spent half of each school day trying to avoid her.

"Man, I don't believe you. You nailed Jennie Taylor, and you don't tell your best friend? What's up with that Mike?"

Tommy Frieling had wrapped his arm around Mike's head and had him in a headlock so that he couldn't escape. While it might appear to any casual observer that the two boys were just playing, Mike felt trapped and vulnerable in Tommy's grip.

His friend was a lot bigger, and he wasn't taking any chances on Mike escaping from his grasp. He was leading Mike away from the school and over to the alley that was a shortcut to their homes.

"You knew that I liked her Mike, and you still went ahead and did it. I should really kick your ass."

Once they were far enough in the alley, Tommy released his hold on Mike and stepped back from him.

"Tommy, what in the fuck are you ranting about? And, who says that she and I did anything?"

Mike was trying to work out the crick in his neck that Tommy had put on it with his gorilla strength.

"Who said? Jennie said. She told Donna and Gail. Gail told some girls in her gym class, and one of them told Richard Genner. Richard told me. That was a real shitty thing to do Mike."

Tommy actually looked like he was going to cry. Mike tried to think of something to say to comfort his friend without having to actually lie to him.

"Well, I don't know what she said, and that's her business, what she says. We broke up last week, and you can have her if you want her."

"You're not going to admit it are you? Too chicken shit to tell me to my face."

Tommy punched Mike in the mouth. Mike felt sick to his stomach. He and Tommy had been friends forever.

"You stay away from her, and from me too Mike Sweeney."

Tommy turned and walked back towards the school. Mike watched him leaving, and wondered whether this had been all Tommy's idea. He dismissed his thoughts as simply paranoia, but still, he wouldn't put it past Jennie to use Tommy to pay him back for ignoring her.

The next day in school, Tommy and Jennie were a couple. Mike ignored both of them. He found that he really didn't care about what Jennie did anymore. He went back to the life he left when Jennie came and took over it. It felt good to get back to it too, less excitement, but healthier, because he had been letting too much other stuff slide.

Before Jennie, he used to go up to the park after school, almost every day, and play baseball, or shoot some hoops, or just hang out with the guys. He went back to doing that again, and studying too.

He had fallen behind on doing his chores too, but he quickly caught back up. By the end of the third week, after his break up, Mike was bored out of his skull, and so horny that he was beating off at least twice a day.

Jennie pretended to go with Tommy Frieling for a week, but she just didn't like him. His kisses left her cold inside, and his pathetic pawing at her breasts inspired nothing in her. He had come up to her and told her that he had beaten Mike up, for what he did to her.

She had pretended that nothing had happened between her and Mike. She certainly wasn't going to admit what Tommy was practically accusing her of doing with Mike. She wondered which of her two friends had been talking. If Tommy had heard already, it must be all over the school. She should have known better than to tell anyone.

It was just that she was so down in the dumps, and she thought sharing it with her friends would help her. After she broke up with Tommy, she felt better about herself. Going back with him just showed how low she had been feeling about things.

She could do a lot better than Tommy. Better than Mike Sweeney too. She just wished that she didn't think of him so much, and that he wasn't the one she thought about when she gave herself that special feeling every night.

Mike decided that he needed to do something, or else risk going crazy. He couldn't sit in his room every night, beating his meat, and thinking about Jennie. He didn't want to be with her, couldn't stand her, in fact, but his mind still pictured her when he was trying to get some relief.

He needed a new experience, with someone else, to erase her from his mind. Jessica Sanborn. He'd call her and talk with her, maybe even see if she wanted to meet him at the movies tomorrow afternoon. He wished that he was older and had his own car. He'd just call her and see what happened after.

"Hello?"

"May I speak with Jessica please?"

"This is Jessica, who is this?"

"Hi Jessica, this is Mike Sweeney, from school?"

He heard her giggle. It was a nice sound, he thought.

"I know who you are Mike. What's up?"

"Well, not so much, actually. I'm here in my bedroom bored, and I thought I'd give you a call and see if you can get me unbored."

"That's not very flattering Mike. Only calling me because you're bored."

"I didn't mean it like that Jessica. I meant that it might be exciting to call you."

"Oh, now I'm exciting?"

"I think so."

"This is the first time you've mentioned it."

"That's because I'm shy."

"That's not what I've been hearing Mike. In fact, what I've been hearing is that you're pretty fast."

"I don't know what you've been hearing Jessica. I'm the farthest thing from fast."

"So the rumors about you and Jennie Taylor going all the way, aren't true?"

"No, and I never heard those rumors. That isn't nice for either Jennie or me. Who told you something like that anyway?"

"It's all over the school Mike. Jennie is supposed to have told her two best friends all about it."

"Don't believe everything you hear then. I can guarantee that the rumor is false."

"If you say so Mike. You should know. So what else is exciting in your life?"

"Besides talking with you?"

"Yes, besides that."

"Well, I'm naked on my bed right now."

"You're not!"

"No, I'm not, I just wanted to say that to see how you'd react. I really have my socks still on."

"I can picture that."