Boy Shopping (16 page)

“No big deal,” she said, speed-dialing Jasmine. Her friend didn't pick up. She knew that Sasha was with Thomas somewhere, and wouldn't want to be interrupted. That left her other best friend.

“Hey, Mark. Would you mind coming to get me?”

 

Kiki expected Mark to make a big deal out of it. He had to know that another boy was involved. Even before his recent weirdness, Mark would have made fun of her for getting stuck like this. But he hadn't had a terribly good time at Laura Keller's, especially after Franklin got puking drunk. Mark had had to watch over him in the bathroom to make sure he didn't drown in the toilet. He was glad to have a good excuse for passing the responsibility for Franklin on to someone else.

“You have any Pink Floyd in the car?” Kiki asked, tilting her seat back.

“Of course. Check the CD case.” Kiki slipped
Dark Side of the Moon
into his nice new CD player. It was probably more expensive than the car itself, and the sounds of the world-famous album pouring from the speakers soothed Kiki's jumbled emotions.

“You know they're doing
Dark Side of the Wizard
tomorrow at the Belcourt.”

“Hmm?” She had been doing the breathing exercise again, and it had done its job. She wasn't as pissed off at Joshua anymore. The music thing wasn't that big a deal, after all, and even if Josh's friends were idiots, he was still a decent guy. After all, he could have flipped out when Kiki called a guy to come pick her up, but he was perfectly fine about that.

“There are all these weird moments when
Dark Side of the Moon
seems to describe what's going on in
The Wizard of Oz
, if you start the music at the right time. Like when the wicked witch shows up, it's on the line, ‘You don't know which is which and who is who.' Stuff like that. It's supposed to be really cool. Franklin and I were talking about going to see it.”

“That sounds like fun.” She wondered if Josh would like to see it, but he would probably be doing volunteer work.

That's when it hit her: volunteer work was the same thing as community service, which was the punishment Kiki's mom liked to give for underage, first-time offenders. Was Josh doing hundreds of hours of community service because he wanted to, or because he had to? Did Kiki want to go out with someone who might be a criminal?

 

SHOULD KIKI TRY HIM ON?
Turn to page 181 to see if Joshua's her perfect fit.

SHOULD KIKI PUT HIM BACK ON THE RACK?
Turn to page 189 to see what happens if she tells him goodbye.

Welcome to the Dark Side of the Moon

T
he next morning—well, early afternoon—when Kiki rolled out of bed, she gave Josh a call.

“How would you like to find out what's so great about Pink Floyd?”

“Sounds good to me,” he said cheerfully. “I'm glad you got home all right, even if you didn't dig the party.”

“It was okay, I guess, but there is something I have to ask you about. Something someone said at the party.” Of course, she'd heard about it long before the party, but she didn't see any reason to tell him that. “Were you arrested for dealing heroin?”

After a long pause he said, “Not exactly.”

“How do you ‘not exactly' get arrested?”

“I did get arrested, but not because the police thought I had drugs. I got arrested because I was driving home from a party and I realized that the road seemed a lot curvier than it was on the way to the party, so I pulled over to sleep it off. A cop turned up around five in the morning. I had sobered up by then, but apparently you're not supposed to sleep in cars on the side of the road. I got a little angry, because I'd pulled over so I wouldn't endanger anyone, and here's a cop hassling me for that. So then they decided to search the car. They found a bag of creatine powder—I was trying to bulk up—and basically just decided it was heroin. They wound up dropping all the charges, but that was about the worst hangover of my entire life.” Josh laughed at the memory.

“So you didn't get sentenced to community service?”

“Of course not. Is that what you thought? That I had to do volunteer work?”

“Well, yeah, I wondered.”

“I won't say that I'm only doing it out of the goodness of my heart. I've got some selfish reasons too. I've got my eye on college applications. For the Ivy League, just being good at lacrosse might not be enough. But no one is making me do community service.”

Kiki had to laugh. She'd thought he was a criminal, but the worst thing he was guilty of was worrying about college. Two hours after their discussion, she was getting into his car.

“Hey,” he said, kissing her hello very chastely on the cheek. When that first kiss turned into a second, sexier one, giving him a taste of her new cake-batter flavored lip gloss, and a third, flavored by the mint he had eaten on the way to pick her up, Kiki broke it off.

“Josh, my mother is weeding the gardenias
right over there
.” She jerked her head toward the shadows on the far side of her front porch.

“She isn't watching us.”

“Hello,” Kiki said firmly, removing his hand from her lap. “I am not interested in testing that. And we need to leave anyway if we're going to get popcorn.”

“All right. Can't blame a guy for trying.” He winked at her, and she had to smile back.

But she wasn't smiling later in the movie theater when he started fondling her knee, before Dorothy Gale fell into the pigpen while the movie was still black-and-white.

“Cut it out,” she whispered, elbowing him in the ribs. She glared at him to show him she meant it. They arrived late, so that the only seats available were near the front, where everyone could see them by the light reflected of the screen. There was a better-than-even chance that Mark and Franklin were in the crowd somewhere. Kiki had searched in vain for Franklin's platinum head, but that didn't mean that he wasn't there somewhere. And
The Wizard of Oz
was rated G, so there were plenty of kids in the theater, and Kiki was not interested in giving them a show.

Josh sighed and gave up. He slumped in his seat, making the springs creak. He fidgeted with his watch, turning the In-diglo on, then turned his cell phone on. Several people, including Kiki, shushed him when it beeped to let him know that he had messages.

“What?” he whispered back. “I'm bored.”

“SHHH!” hissed half a dozen people. He glared over his shoulder before settling back into his seat. Then popcorn began flying in their direction.

“Who's doing that?” Josh shouted, jumping to his feet. “You need to meet me outside, asshole!”

Kiki slid farther down into her seat, wishing she were invisible. Her standards for theater behavior weren't high— Franklin had been known to throw popcorn once in a while, and she and Mark were terrible about whispering snarky comments during movies. But whispering and goofing around was one thing. Challenging people to fight was a whole new level. And he made no effort to hide how bored he was, even though he knew that Kiki really wanted to be there.

“This is bogus,” Josh growled. “I'm outta here.” He stood and looked at Kiki. “You coming?”

Kiki shook her head. She didn't want to go anywhere with Josh, now or ever.

He didn't seem surprised—or disappointed.

“Fine. Enjoy your old-ass movie and your weird-ass music.” Joshua stomped up the aisle and out of the theater.

Kiki tried to focus again on the movie, but someone plopped into the seat beside her. Mark. Great, she thought. “Here to tell me my date was a complete jerk?” she whispered. “'Cause I already worked that out for myself, thanks.”

“Um, no, actually, I was going to apologize. That was me and Franklin throwing the popcorn.”

Kiki punched him in the arm, but not as hard as she could. “Why am I not surprised?”

“You know us too well,” he said, giving her a one-armed hug. It was the most comfortable moment they had shared since the night he had asked about Jasmine. “Come sit with us.”

She followed Mark to the back of the movie theater and settled into her seat. On-screen, Technicolor had just enlivened the world of Oz. Kiki and Mark sat a few rows behind Franklin and his favorite groupie, Lizzie. They were making out energetically. Mark glanced at Kiki, who gave him a little nod. He flicked a piece of popcorn at Franklin's head.

Franklin didn't notice, so Mark threw a few more. The man sitting in a row between him and Franklin didn't seem to mind; he was already shielding his ten-year-old's eyes from Franklin and Lizzie's spectacle. But when a couple of pieces hit Lizzie, it was her turn to jump to her feet.

Mark and Kiki ducked, but it didn't help. Lizzie threw her entire bag of popcorn in their general direction.

“You four: out!” hissed an usher, waving his flashlight at them. They slunk out in embarrassment, Kiki clutching her bucket of popcorn to her chest as if it was a teddy bear. As soon as they hit the pavement outside the Belcourt, the contents of the bucket hit Lizzie and Franklin.

“You guys suck!” Lizzie wailed, running down the street.

“What are you going to do to defend your girlfriend?” Mark teased Franklin, who was red-faced with a combination of anger and amusement. “Challenge us to pistols at dawn?”

“Super Soakers at Jamie's party tonight,” Franklin declared. “After practice.” He spun on his heel and chased after Lizzie.

“You're on,” Kiki called after him. It wouldn't be the first time they had chased each other through the woods with water guns, and it wouldn't be the last. She and Mark wandered up the street, back to his car, their hands not quite touching.

“You know, we really do make a good team,” Mark said once they had climbed into the Karmann Ghia.

“Yes, Mark. I do know.”

Then, because there would never be a better moment, Kiki kissed him, gently, sweetly, on the lips.

“Why didn't you do that six months ago?” he asked her, pulling away.

“Why didn't you?” She kept her voice light, but her question was serious.

“Because you're my best friend.” His eyes were just as serious. “You've got Jasmine and Camille and all. I have Franklin. I couldn't just say, ‘Hey, let's get it on.' What if you said no? Everything would be screwed up.”

“You don't think things have been more than a little screwed up lately? Like when you asked if Jasmine was free?”

“I was going to ask you out.
Out
out, I mean. But then, when the moment came, I froze. I just asked the first question that came into my mind. I had some idea that Jasmine could tell me whether you were interested, but mostly I was just afraid.”

Kiki wanted to be angry with him, but, in the end, it was fear that had kept her from asking him out. Fear that he would reject her, fear that the rejection would kill their friendship. And it cheered her to know that their friendship meant just as much to him as it did to her.

“Good thing one of us is brave, huh?” she said, kissing him again. It didn't turn wild and forceful like Josh's kisses. It was the kiss of two people who knew each other inside and out, slow and lingering and playful, arms wrapped around each other so tight Kiki wondered if they would ever let go.

“I have an idea,” Mark whispered, winding a couple of dreadlocks around his fingers. “Let's go over to my house and think up a strategy for killing Franklin later.”

Kiki smiled up at Mark. She knew Mark well enough to know that whatever he might say about strategy, he was thinking about something else entirely. “I can't think of anything I would rather do.”

There Is No Dark Side of the Moon

W
hen Kiki finally rolled out of bed the next morning, she checked her cell phone. There was a text from Camille letting her know she'd gotten home all right. Kiki texted back
Me 2.
She frowned at the phone a minute, then she gave Josh a call.

“You know, Josh, I've been thinking, and I don't think we should see each other again. We don't actually have all that much in common.”

“Is this just about the music thing? 'Cause I have to say, I think I felt a real connection.”

“Of course it's not just about the music.” Kiki could date someone who didn't like Pink Floyd—in fact she had, at least twice. Classic rock was not everyone's gig. But Kiki could not imagine dating someone who spent all his time with such mindless losers, the kind of stereotypical prep school kids who gave all the others a bad name. And she didn't appreciate the way he was downing beer while she was left to fend for herself with a bunch of snotty strangers. She wouldn't drag a date to band practice, and didn't appreciate that Josh was unable to find any time during the entire weekend to spend alone with her. And, yeah, there was the whole dealing heroin thing.

“Well, then, I guess I'll see you around. Nice knowing you, Kiki,” he said.

“You, too. Good luck with your lacrosse and stuff.”

“Yeah. Later.”

When the phone rang a little while later, she thought it might be Josh calling her back. Instead it was Mark, asking if she wanted to go to
Dark Side of the Wizard.
Kiki persuaded her mother to leave her gardening chores long enough to drop her off at the Belcourt.

She spotted Franklin, Mark, and Franklin's groupie Lizzie through the glass doors of the movie theater, buying popcorn. She hurried to the ticket-buyers' line and was surprised to find Josh standing near the front. He was slumped in a baggy jacket as if he was afraid someone would recognize him.

“Hey,” Kiki said, heading straight for him. “What are you doing here?”

He shrugged, shyly, she thought. “You were so intense about the whole Pink Floyd thing. I saw in the paper that they were doing this, so I decided to see what's so great about them.”

Kiki could feel herself blushing. She had assumed that his whole “felt a real connection” thing just meant that he hadn't had a chance to get in her pants yet, and he didn't want to quit seeing her until he had. Maybe they did share a deep connection—she felt like they did—but then she remembered how different they actually were.

“If you want the real Pink Floyd experience, you have to see
The Wall
.” Kiki said. “It's this movie they did—very strange. The soundtrack, though, is completely amazing.”

“I've never heard of it,” Josh admitted.

“Yes, you have.” She sang the “We don't need no education” chorus, which he recognized instantly. It was one of those songs everyone had heard somewhere, even if they didn't know who wrote it.

“What section of the video store is it in?”

“Musicals, probably.” She laughed. “At least, I think so.” There was a world of difference between the vaginas on legs in
The Wall
and the dance numbers in
Oklahoma!
and
Annie
, but it was mostly music.

“Tell you what,” Kiki said, slipping her arm in his. “I have it on DVD. Want to skip this and watch it at my place?”

“Are you sure?” he asked warily.

“Sure I'm sure,” she said. “‘Watch a movie' is not code for a drunken sexual rampage. I really am inviting you over to watch a movie.”

“Cultural education?” he asked.

“Riiiiight.”

But once they got in the car, Kiki remembered the whole might-be-a-criminal thing. She wouldn't want to introduce her mother to someone she'd already met in the courthouse.

“So, uh, I heard something weird at the party,” she said as they pulled out of the parking lot. “About how you once got busted for heroin?”

He snorted at that. “Yeah, I got busted for heroin. Except that it wasn't actually heroin, and I didn't exactly get busted.”

“What happened?” Kiki asked, impressed that he was willing to admit to it outright.

“I did get arrested,” Joshua explained, “but not because they thought I had drugs. I got arrested because I was driving home from a team party and I was pretty wasted. I pulled over to sleep it off. A cop knocked on my window about five in the morning. I had sobered up by then, but apparently you're not supposed to sleep in cars on the side of the road. I got a little angry, because I'd pulled over so I wouldn't endanger anyone, and here's a cop hassling me for it. We kind of got into it, so then they decided to search the car. They found a bag of creatine powder that I had because I was trying to bulk up, and assumed it was heroin. They eventually dropped all the charges, but that was about the worst hangover of my entire life.” Josh laughed at the memory.

“So you didn't get sentenced to community service?”

“Of course not. Is that what you thought? That I had to do volunteer work?”

“Well, yeah, I wondered.”

“I won't say that I'm only doing it out of the goodness of my heart. I've got some selfish reasons for doing it too. It will look great on my college applications. But no one makes me do it.”

Kiki smiled. “Good to know.”

Kiki's phone beeped, indicating an incoming text message.

“Oh my God! I forgot to tell Mark and Franklin that I'm not coming.”

“So you guys are really close, huh?” he asked while she typed.

“Sometimes. It's like being a family. We fight a lot, but we're stuck together, so we have to work things out sooner or later.”

“Like being on a team,” he grinned.

“Exactly. Well, not exactly,” she added. “If Franklin got wasted we would never let him drive anywhere.”

Josh laughed, although Kiki wasn't kidding. “You don't understand,” he explained. “I was probably the least toasted of the entire party. We were all really, really drunk.”

“I figured.” Kiki shared a few of her own Bad Things That Happen When You Drink stories, most of which involved her and Mark trying to save Franklin from fistfights with bouncers and angry boyfriends. They laughed all the way to Kiki's house.

Her mother had finished trimming the shrubs in front of the house, which meant she was tending to her precious rose garden in the backyard, getting the rose bushes ready for the winter. She always left the back door open when she gardened, just in case the house line rang, so Kiki elbowed Josh in the ribs when he practically screamed, “Where's the liquor cabinet ?” as soon as they walked in.

“Shh,” she hissed, jerking a thumb towards the kitchen. “My mom's around here somewhere.”

“Where's the liquor cabinet?” he stage-whispered, wandering around the crowded living room curiously.

“My parents just drink wine.”

“Wine rack?”

“In the kitchen, but they know how many bottles they have.”

“I'm going on a beer run, then. What kind do you like?”

She shook her head in amazement. “Josh, it's one o'clock on a Sunday afternoon. Why are you in such a rush to start drinking?”

He looked equally confused. “It's Sunday afternoon—why wouldn't I be drinking?”

Kiki sank onto the couch. She couldn't believe she was having this discussion. She had just told him that her mother was there, and he wanted to go buy a six-pack? “If you go out that door to buy beer, don't bother coming back.”

“What is your issue? The drink in your hand didn't bother you last night.”

“There's a difference between drinking and being a drunk! I'd never drink so much that I would force a friend who didn't know anyone else at a party to find a ride home in the middle of the night. And I don't drive drunk either—even Franklin has never been that stupid. There is such a thing as drinking responsibly!”

“Fine,” he said, heading for the door. “If you've got to judge everybody from your high-and-mighty point of view, be my guest! You're such a snob, Kiki. See you later.”

Kiki was tempted to chase him out the door and explain exactly what it meant to be a snob, but it didn't seem worth it.

“So who's your friend?” her mother asked, popping her head into the living room.

“He's not my friend,” Kiki said, closing her eyes wearily. “How much of that did you hear?”

“Everything from ‘Wine rack?' on, I think.” Kiki felt her mother settling onto the couch next to her.

“Am I grounded?”

“For drinking last night? You probably should be. You know how your father and I feel about that.”

“Yeah, 'cause you guys never drank at all before you were legal.”

Kiki's mother raised one carefully plucked eyebrow.

“Aunt Josephine told me about the night you two got trashed at Aunt Meredith's cotillion,” Kiki said.

“
All
about that night?”

“Everything. Including the part where you disappear with Aunt Meredith's escort after drinking an entire bottle of champagne by yourself.”

“That was your father,” her mother said, blushing.

“Nope. You met Dad at Aunt Josephine's cotillion.”

“You know that drinking is against the law, and that it would be very embarrassing for me if you were caught drinking. Not to mention bad for you,” her mother said sternly. “On the other hand, I'm proud of you.”

“Really?” Kiki examined her mother's face carefully to make sure she wasn't kidding. She had an odd sense of humor. But the smile on her face seemed to be all about love. “Why?”

“Because you didn't take a ride with someone who had been drinking. Because you called your friend out on what certainly sounds like some very problematic drinking habits. Because you actually know what it means to drink responsibly.”

“So I'm not grounded?”

“No, you're not grounded.” She slung an arm around Kiki's shoulders for a little half hug. “But if I hear you've been drinking again, I'll tell your father. And he doesn't need to hear about Aunt Meredith's cotillion, either.”