Part V: Snakes – Then: November 22, 1963: #7 (Chapter 86) (***Possible Trigger Warning*** – Mild Sexual Content)

“Have you ever done it?” P.J. asked.

“What?”

“You know–it! Sex.”

“No,” I lied. That time long ago with Danny was just too complicated to explain; besides, that didn’t really count.

“I haven’t either, but I plan to. Real soon.”

Not with me you won’t!

“When I grow up, I’m going to have a different girl every day.”

I thought about his sweaty hand on my neck. “P.J., you’ll be lucky to find one girl who’ll have you.”

As soon as the words spilled out, I knew I had said the wrong thing.

Sure, P.J. was obnoxious and disgusting, but I understood how painful it was being constantly reminded of my shortcomings – like my weight.

“I thought you were nice, Samantha. Guess I was wrong.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it quite that way.”

“Yes, you did. You girls are all alike, always looking for Prince Charming. Well, I’ll show you.”

“I said I’m sorry.”

“Until the next time you say something stupid.”

“Give it a rest, okay?”

P.J. set his sandwich down beside him, hopped off the bench, and poked his index finger onto my chest. “Just watch out, Samantha Mallory, or the bogeyman’ll get ya!”

“I can take care of myself.”

“We’ll see.”

He sat back down, and we finished our lunch in silence.

“Say,” P.J. said as we crumpled up our lunch bags and smashed our paper cups, “Laura and Davey are headed somewhere.”

He pointed to the two who were sneaking through some double doors. He hopped off the bench and pulled on my arm. “Let’s go spy on the lovebirds.”

“P.J.!”

“C’mon! You’re just as curious as I am. Besides, you want to spend the rest of the day in the corn field?”

He had a point. We would surely get into trouble for playing hooky from corn picking, but that seemed unimportant.

“You’re on!”

We followed them through a hallway and into a dim room filled with pipes, a boiler, and some other strange machinery that clicked, rattled, whooshed, bumped, and screeched. Laura and Davey seemed to know this room well.

We slipped in before the door clicked shut and hid behind the boiler, a large round cylinder with pipes reaching into the ceiling like Medusa’s snakes.

The two hugged tightly.

“Oh, Laura,” Davey whispered huskily as he stuck his tongue into her ear.

“Oh, yuk,” I whispered in P.J.’s ear.

P.J. put his finger to his lips. He took a pen and small note pad from his coat pocket and wrote, Keep watching. It’s gonna get good.

I took the pen and notepad from him. You’ve done this before, you twit!!!! I passed the pad to him.

Yeah. And why not?

Because it’s not right to spy on lovers!

Admit it. You’re just as curious as I am.

P.J. was right, and I passed the pad back to him without further comment.

By now, Davey, bare chested, had thrown Laura’s blouse onto the floor and was unhooking her bra. She ground her pelvis into his, and he licked her face. Laura’s bra fell to the floor; she unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans and pulled them and his Jockeys to his thighs. His penis grew bigger, sticking straight out, brown and tense.

It looked a lot bigger and scarier than Danny’s little pale, freckled thing.

P.J. started rubbing his own crotch.

I grabbed the notepad from him. Stop that right now, you disgusting creature! I’m not that kind of girl!

You think I want to do it with you? Ha! Ha! Maybe I just want to have a little fun by myself.

You’re a jerk, P.J. Bert!

Don’t you want to know what it looks like?

I paused, then scribbled, Maybe a little. But just a peek, okay?

P.J. unzipped his pants and pulled out his thing, shriveled and pale like Danny’s before, before it – it hung exposed like a dead, colorless worm.

I can make it bigger, he scribbled.

I shivered at the thought. Just put it back!

P.J. obeyed. Now I get to see yours.

Forget it!

Turnabout is fair play!

I won’t do it!

Fat cow!

Creep!

Bitch!

Pimple face! No girl will ever want to hang around you.

That’s what you think!

Davey moaned loudly; I turned to see what was happening: Laura was on her knees, licking Davey’s penis, then sucking its tip before taking the whole thing into her mouth.

I had never seen anything like this before; I was paralyzed, not wanting to see what I was seeing and yet unable to stop staring.

Was this really how sex was supposed to happen?

P.J.’s hand on my breast.

I pushed him away; he grabbed again, this time pinching hard.

“OUCH!” I dropped the notepad.

P.J. groped for my groin.

“STOP IT!” I swatted at him.

Davey’s deep voice boomed. “What d’hell?”

“It’s those brats,” Laura said, jumping up and trying to hide her nakedness with her hands.

I ran out of the room and never looked back.

The four of us ended up back in the corn field, too embarrassed to look at each other, let alone discuss what had happened.

No one seemed to notice we had disappeared into the boiler room for more than 30 minutes.