Chapter 11

I did what I could to avoid Elizabeth for the next few days. But, as with most things, it was impossible to stay completely away from her. She glared at me every time I'd see her. I would just smile and try to be as cordial as possible — which pissed her off even more, I think.

I would work out during the mornings behind my apartment to avoid the harsh temperatures of the afternoon.

I was finishing my morning run when I saw Allie, Aaron's sister, sitting by the pool with Elizabeth. I'd met Allie on a couple of occasions at the hospital, but I didn't know her well. She was seven years older than Aaron and while they were close, they weren't companions.

Allie saw me and waved, and I waved back. She said something to Elizabeth and Elizabeth shook her head, but I was already headed to the shower.

By the time I came out, Allie was sitting on my back porch.

"Hi, Allie," I said. "Do you want some water or juice? I don't have much else to offer."

Allie said she didn't.

"I just wanted to say hi," she told me. "Aaron has been driving mom and dad crazy. He wants to go golfing with dad and he wants to try out for football in the fall."

I told her I'd talked to Aaron two nights before. I knew he was itching to get back to normal things.

"He told me his cancer is in remission," I said. "If the doctors say it's OK, maybe he should go golfing a little. I run pretty close to your house every morning. If he wants he can meet me on his bicycle and pedal along for a block or two until he gets tired.

"I won't let him overdo it. Maybe I'll give your dad a call this afternoon." We talked a little while longer about Aaron, but soon Allie got to the point of her visit.

"Beth has changed a lot," she said. "I asked if you two were getting along and she about tore my head off. I don't know you well, but my parents are pretty good judges of character.

"What did you do to piss her off so bad?"

I told her.

"It was a lot funnier in my head," I said. "I've found a lot of things are."

Allie told me she didn't blame me.

"She's treated me like her maid a couple of times, too," she said. "I just told her to go fuck herself. Anyway, I just wanted to stop by. If she isn't too much of a bitch, we'll probably be seeing a lot of each other this summer. I didn't want you to think I was being a spoiled brat, too. I'm grateful for the way you treat Aaron. He's doing so well."

Allie walked off and I could help but admire her butt. It was definitely a nice butt.

A couple of days later, I overheard Elizabeth asking Mack if he could get her opening-night entrance to a new club that was opening downtown. Mack told her he'd try, but not to get her hopes up.

The owner of the club spent a lot of time around the football and basketball teams and he'd offered us first shot at tickets if we'd show up. It was a forgone conclusion that, in Lexington, if the sports stars are there, you're guaranteed a packed house. It took one phone call and I had the tickets that afternoon.

I approached Mack at supper.

"I heard Elizabeth ask you to get these," I told him. "I don't know if you want her going or not, but you can give these to her if you want."

I handed him three tickets for Saturday's opening.

"R.J., why would you do this?" he asked. "She hasn't so much as spoken to you. And you find out she wants something and you get it for her."

I told him I didn't get them for her. I got them for him.

"These are from you," I said, "not from me. I don't even want her to know how you got them. I just want her to know her daddy still loves her even when she's a pain in the butt."

Allie stopped by the next morning to visit me after my workout.

"Are you going to Zep's Saturday?" she asked. Zep's was the new club.

I told her clubs weren't really my thing, but I would be stopping in for a few minutes — I didn't mention that was a condition of me getting three other tickets.

"Beth's dad got us primo seats," she said. "They're in the VIP section. That's usually reserved for jocks and local celebs. It's supposed to be...

Allie stopped in mid-sentence.

"You got the tickets, didn't you?" she asked as it dawned on her. "Wait until she finds out these are from you. I've been telling her all week she's wrong about you."

"These are from Mack," I said. "You might think you know me, but you really don't. I don't think I'd do this for Elizabeth. If you'd asked, I probably would have. And when she asked Mack, I knew he wanted to do this for her. I just made sure he could. I just hope you have fun."

Allie told me Elizabeth was taking her and one of their other friends, Courtney, and meeting another friend there.

"Courtney and Jenny haven't met the new Beth, yet," she said. "I figure there are going to be fireworks if she starts her prima donna act with them."

"I told a couple of my friends from the team to look out for you guys," I said. "If any creeps start getting grabby — and you don't want them to — just find one of the big guys and they'll handle it."

Allie told me I was a pretty useful friend to have.

True to my word, I stopped by Zep's on Saturday and I met Courtney and Jennifer. They seemed nice. I spent a half hour there before I'd had enough. I said my goodbyes — and I noticed Beth was already a couple of drinks into her night.

I spotted Allie who looked like she was putting away the liquor pretty quickly, too.

"Who's driving tonight?" I asked.

She said Beth was the designated driver.

"She's already had a couple of drinks," I said. "If you guys get ready to go and she's loaded, give me a call and I'll come get you."

Allie said she would.

"Promise?" I asked. "Aaron's pretty fond of his big sister, and I think she's pretty cool, too. I don't want anything happening to her."

Allie told me she'd handle everything and watch Elizabeth.

"It'll be alright," she said. "If it isn't, I'll call."

It wasn't Allie who called. It was the owner of Zep's who rang my cell phone a little after midnight.

"Hey, man," he said. "You gotta come get this girl. She's drunk. She's nasty and she's starting fights — with guys. I was gonna call the cops and toss her out on her ass, but one of your friends asked me to call you first."

I told him I'd be right down, but I didn't know if I'd be much help.

Elizabeth was everything he'd said and more.

She'd pissed Allie and the rest of her friends off earlier in the evening and they were avoiding her.

"So, Mr. Perfect is coming to baby sit me," she said. "Did daddy send you to watch his little girl?"

I told her the owner of the club called me to get her before he had her arrested.

The owner had put Elizabeth in his office with one of the bouncers — a guy who worked at the club Cody sang in, so at least I knew him.

A couple of my friends joined me — as did Elizabeth's erstwhile companions, Allie, Courtney, and Jenny. The other three girls were as drunk — but not as belligerent — as Elizabeth. Tom VandeVender stood at the door shaking his head.

"Dude, this is one seriously whacked out chick," he said. "They cut her off at the bar, so she was going table to table stealing drinks."

Elizabeth was demonstrating her knowledge of four-letter words throughout our brief discussion of what to do with her.

"Maybe the cops are best," Tom offered. "But she told me she's only 20. I know they carded the hell out of me and told me if they caught me drinking they'd prosecute me."

This was not the sort of publicity Zep's wanted when they offered me the tickets. I looked at the women.

"Can she go to any of your houses?" I asked.

Allie told me she was supposed to stay at Courtney's, and Courtney told me there was no way in hell Elizabeth was coming to her house.

Jenny said Elizabeth wasn't welcome with her, either.

"She was hitting on my boyfriend all night," she said. "I'd strangle her in her sleep."

Well shit.

"OK, Princess," I said. "I guess it's up to me to keep your ass out of jail. But I swear to Christ, Miss Ferguson, if you so much as say one thing that pisses me off, I'll drive you to the jail myself and Mack can come get you in the morning."

At the mention of Mack's name, Elizabeth stopped cursing.

"The only reason I'm down here is so Mack doesn't have to come pick your drunken, obnoxious ass up at the jail and take you home," I told her. "So, you're going to pull yourself together. We're going to walk out of here to your car. I'm going to drive you home and you're going to bed. You don't want your dad seeing you this way. I don't want to be associated in any way with your dad seeing you this way. But I'll take my chances with Mack before I put up with any more shit from you."

Elizabeth nodded.

I asked if the other two needed a ride and they nodded.

So I became a chauffer for the evening. I dropped Courtney and Allie off on the other side of town before beginning the drive home.

Elizabeth was overly friendly most of the 20 minutes home. And by overly friendly I mean she was overtly flirting.

"Are we gonna fuck when we get home?" she finally asked.

I told her I had a pretty solid rule about screwing people I didn't particularly like.

"You don't like me," she said. "But I bet you'd like this."

And she slipped her skirt up to show me she'd lost her underwear somewhere. I began to wonder if she'd already had sex a time or two this evening.

"At least let me pay you for the tickets," she said. "What do you think? A blowjob for your kindness. I love to suck cock."

The fact her pussy was still out in the open — and she was playing with it some — had me half hard. Her willingness — perhaps even eagerness — to blow me had me full bore. Hell, I doubt she'd even remember it in the morning.

"Let me blow you now," she said, and started to move her head toward my lap.

If it weren't for the seatbelt, I have no doubt I would have let her.

But she was got tangled up in it and about strangled herself. It brought me back to my senses for long enough to stop my little head from overriding my upper head.

"I'll make you a deal, Elizabeth," I said, holding her shoulder to keep her from dive bombing my pecker. "Anytime you're sober and you make that offer, I won't turn you down. But I won't take advantage of you when your inhibitions are lowered."

Elizabeth looked at me through bleary eyes.

"So you won't let me suck you?" she said. "Are you a fag?"

I assured her I was as heterosexual as anyone she'd met.

"I just have higher standards maybe," I said, hoping the conversation was at an end.

I parked Elizabeth's car and helped her out. I was trying to figure out how to get her up to her room and into bed without waking the Fergusons.

"C'mon," she whispered, tugging at my hand. "When I used to drink in high school, I'd just sleep in the pool house. Mom and dad's room is on the other side of the house."

I figured she'd be passed out in 10 minutes anyway.

"OK, you can sleep there," I told her. "I'll take the couch. You can have the bed. I'll leave a note for your dad so he doesn't worry."

Elizabeth headed to my apartment and I went into the Fergusons. Mack and Ellie were both in the living room.

"Uh, hi," I said.

Both looked at me startled.