~~~
The sun was shining in Colt’s face forcing him to open his eyes. He sat up on the bed and grabbed a pair of gray sweat pants that were on the floor. The clock displayed 1:08 p.m. It was Sunday and both of his parents were at home when he walked into the kitchen to make some coffee.
“Hi honey. This is late, even for you,” said Leona while hugging him.
“I was studying. It’s a new computer thing,” said Colt.
“What computer thing? I thought we discussed this. You need to get serious about college and stop wasting time with computers,” said Robert.
“Hey, Mr. Towne told me it'd be good for me to do it. So, I’m trying it out.” answered Colt a little defensively.
Robert looked at his son with suspicion and irritation.
“How much time will it take? How will it help you get to college? Is the school running this?”
“Uh, sort of. Some parents are running it, but the school is involved. I think it'll take a lot of time. I’ll have to take tough tests, I guess.”
“Give me the names and numbers of the parents running this thing and I’ll give them a call. I’ll find out what is really happening.”
“Robert, don’t be so suspicious. Studying is good, isn’t it? Colt, drink your coffee and don’t worry about him. I think you're doing great,” said Leona.
“Listen honey, we've trusted him too many times. I don’t trust him anymore,” said Robert.
“I know you'll do whatever you need to, dear, but I think Colt is doing fine. Didn’t he say that the school sponsored this class? Colt, how did it go at Ali’s house? Were you able to fix her computer?”
Colt went into a confused state of panic. Crap. She would ask about that. He took a sip of coffee while formulating what to say. Parts of the night at Ali’s house flashed in and out of his mind. He sensed that his unsuspecting mother would not approve of the things that happened at her friend’s house, in her friend’s bedroom. With Leona asking questions, his confidence of the night before disappeared. I better not talk about that night any more than I need to.
“Her computer had a lot of problems. I'm going to have to go back over there. Uh, I’m glad you reminded me. I feel bad that I didn’t get it done in one trip.”
I think that was enough talking about Ali Monroe. Now I need to get outta here.
“She called and told me that you were great and that she's hoping you'll come back soon to finish the job. She said that you were really sweet to help her out.”
Colt realized that he would actually have to see her again and decide how to proceed. Thinking about Alison Monroe was easy, but the idea that he would have to deal with the situation did not appeal to him at all.
“So she called, huh? I’ll get over there as soon as I can, Mom,” said Colt.
Colt knew it was time to get out of the kitchen, which was becoming very, very hot.
Chapter 15
------Email-------
From: O’Brien, Colt[
[email protected]]
To: Jones, Bobby[
[email protected]]
Subject: We need to talk
--------------------------------------------------
Hey Bobinator
Chics man! They can sure screw up things
My life is getting messy. Lets meet soon
Colt
------Email-------
The conversation had been pleasant enough. Alison Monroe was prim and proper on the other end of the line. Nothing she said indicated that their previous encounter was anything more than a dedicated young man helping her with a difficult computer problem. While she talked about email and having her computer screen freeze up, Colt remembered parts of their last meeting in disjointed scenes that were sprinkled with lust, self-satisfaction and nervousness. Dude, she got you drunk and did her thing. No way it was an accident. Now that some time had passed and the name Ali” was voiced through his mother’s lips, Colt was starting to have misgivings about the entire situation. Every time he thought of the events of that night, he saw his mother's face. Also, the feeling of not being in control still disturbed him. She had me dangling like a stupid puppet. And, where will it end up? Where would I fit in? He tried to use logic to understand what to expect from Alison. He came to the conclusion that if she had felt embarrassed by their first encounter, then she never would've asked him to come back. Even though Ali was acting like nothing had happened or would happen, his psychic radar detected covered pockets of emotion that he couldn't interpret. Although he sensed that she had a hidden agenda, he couldn’t be sure. His psychic radar had malfunctioned many times before.
“I’ve been really busy lately. I'll need to get in and out quickly,” said Colt.
“Oh, do you think you can fix it that fast, Colt?” asked Alison.
She sounds so sweet. It's like it's all a forgotten dream. Sorta like it never really happened.
“I think I know what the problem is. If I'm right, it shouldn’t take longer than an hour.”
“How about Tuesday night at eight? Will that be okay?”
Whatever, I better just get this over with.
“That should be fine,” said Colt.
“I’ll see you then, Colt.”
~~~
The door opened and Colt looked at Alison. She was wearing tan slacks, sandals and a gray silk blouse. It seemed like it was his mother’s friend in front of him and not a recent lover. He recalled the last time he stood at this door. Alison had not been wearing a bra and a strong, enticing, scent of patchouli was emanating from the house. So far, so good. Maybe I can get through this without any hassles. The environment seemed very tame and Colt was well-fed and rested. He sensed no tentacles of desire lashing out and pulling at him. This is good. No romance vibes in the air. I don't need any temptation. This whole mistake has to end right now. For Colt, it was over. He knew deep down that any more intimate contact with his mother’s friend could only lead to trouble.
“Hello Colt, come in,” said Alison with no hint of an ulterior motive.
Colt tried to stay neutral and distant.
“Hi, Alison.”
“Do you want me to get you something, coffee, tea, or something stronger?”
“Tea will be fine. I need to concentrate on getting your computer fixed. I didn’t get very far last time.”
“Why don’t you get started and I’ll brew some tea.”
Colt followed her into the house. Well, that’s out of the way. Maybe this will be no big deal.
As he passed the kitchen, he noticed one full glass of white wine and one empty glass on the counter. He recalled the last time he had white wine in this house and felt a twinge in his gut along with a slight dizziness. I'm just nervous. I need to work fast and stay away from the booze. Dude, don’t start imagining things.
When he reached the computer, Colt went through the same ritual that he always did. He opened his bag and removed the items that he would need to do his work. In this case those items were CDs and floppy disks that contained software applications and utilities. Next, he shut down the PC and restarted it. After a preliminary scan of the machine, he called to his employer.
“Is that tea almost ready? I have a few questions about your accounts and email,” said Colt.
Alison entered the room and handed a large steaming mug to Colt. He set it on the desk and turned to her. Colt looked for any change in the mood of his hostess. She seemed relaxed, but nothing more. This allowed him to relax, also. Home free, baby. This will soon be a memory.
“Sure Colt. What questions do you have?” she said.
Colt wrote down information on a medium-sized yellow pad as Alison answered his questions. She was very pleasant and direct when responding. A delicate scent of perfume surrounded her. It was mixed with a distinct but faint odor of white wine. The smells distracted him, but soon he was able to re-focus on the work.
“Thanks. That’s all I need for now. Let me work on this for awhile.”
Alison smiled and held his gaze for a moment longer than before.
“Okay, Colt.”
As she walked away, she brushed against Colt and her silk blouse made contact with his shoulder. It seemed innocent, but he sensed a slight jolt of electrical current arcing between them. Whoa, what the hell was that? Erotic visions entered his thoughts. Colt knew that if he had been drinking, even a small amount, he would be obsessing about how to get Ali Monroe into the bedroom. Instead of feeling concerned about being seduced by Alison, he was becoming concerned about his own self-control. Just control yourself and stop worrying about her.
Colt worked on the problems in front of him, hoping to move his attention into another area. After a short time, his lascivious thoughts subsided. He was able to fix one problem after another, which always pleased him and spurred him on. Alison’s computer functioned better with each problem that he solved. After about forty minutes, Colt considered his job complete.
“Ali, I need about five more minutes to wrap this up.”
“Can I bring anything in with me? Do you want more tea?”
“No thanks. I have to split,” said Colt.
In what seemed to be a few seconds, Colt felt two supple hands on his shoulders, and the smell of perfume and wine from behind. The soft but firm hands were massaging his shoulders in a sensuous, persistent way. In an instant, he was physically aroused. Unlike the last time, he had the self-control to resist her obvious intentions. Colt moved her hands and stood up. She had a look of unbridled desire in her sparkling brown eyes above pouty lips and bright pink cheeks.
Colt was struggling to resist her obvious intentions.
“Um, uh, er, I don’t want to do anything I will regret,” he blurted out.
Ali was moving a hand toward Colt's mid-section.
“Baby, it was so good with us. I need you and I know you need me, too.”
“I need to leave,” said Colt as he backed away.
“I can see you're ready for me, baby, really ready. Oh Colt, let’s just do it one more time.”
Colt could feel her desire sapping his last reserves of self-control. He turned and gathered up his disks, threw them in his bag and turned for the door. He was now rushing like he was about to be pulled into quicksand.
“I have to go. I have to go now.”
Alison's eyes flashed with anger as her petite body tensed. Her fingers clenched into fists.
“So Colt, you just use me and then leave? Am I only good for one night?”
Colt reached the door and felt the wave of hatred in her words. He stopped and turned. Here it comes.
“I’m sorry, but I'm not into this. You're my mother’s friend. Anyway, I was drunk last time.”
The words had more force behind them than Colt intended. Fighting her and his own lust caused him to lose focus and become irritated.
Alison moved toward Colt. Her red face and zombie-like eyes reminded Colt of his dream.
“You can’t do this to me. How would Mommy feel if I told her you got me drunk and then screwed me? How her sweet little boy took advantage of me?”
Colt was now on the defensive. This wasn't something he expected and he wondered if this was a real threat or not.
“Uh, um, why would you do that? You know it didn’t happen that way.”
“Maybe it did happen like that. I can remember what I want,” screamed Alison.
“Goodbye. Leave me alone,” yelled Colt.
Alison, who was now directly in front of Colt, slapped him. Crap, I should have seen that coming. The psychic pain was far more intense than the physical. He could feel the entire brunt of her emotional state. It felt like red and black thought clouds were assaulting him and spiked walls were closing in. I have to get out; I have to get out.
“That’s right Colt, get the hell out of my sight! Run like a rat. But don’t think you can get away with this,” yelled Alison Monroe as she slammed the door behind him.
The next thing Colt remembered was driving down the road with a burning cheek and sweaty forehead. A menu of future possibilities bounced across his unsettled mind. None of the entrees were appetizing. Crap, a whole lotta bad things can happen. I wonder how much she can screw up my life?
Chapter 16
------Email-------
From: Strong, Amy[
[email protected]]
To: Bower, Susan[
[email protected]]
Subject: I think he’s cute
-------------------------------------------------
HI SUZY
I HEARD ABOUT THE FIGHT. I THINK COLT IS SO CUTE. I DON’T CARE IF HES SHORT. HE HELPS PEOPLE. HIS SISTER TALKED TO OUR SOCCER TEAM. WE ALL THINK SHES THE BEST. I WANT TO GET TO KNOW COLT BETTER
AMY
------Email-------
Colt and Bobby had been working all afternoon fixing sick computers. The school day had ended hours before, but they were only now walking toward the parking lot to leave for home. The young men felt a sense of satisfaction after helping many teachers and administrators become productive again. A computer virus had rampaged through Highline High’s computer network causing a variety of problems. The two young men had been up to the task and all of the infected devices were now working.
“Man, that virus was bad. I'm sure glad we had the right updates to fix them,” said Bobby.
“It’s really great when it all goes right. I can remember lots of times when we were drowning in tricky problems and we had no idea what was wrong. Dude, we've learned some stuff.”
As they walked around a corner toward the baseball fields below, they heard the rattling of a fence and someone yelling, “No, no.”
Bobby could see that three teenagers had a much smaller boy surrounded. The frail-looking student was backed up against the fence. The bullies were pushing him from side to side and slapping him up and down his thin body. One of the assailants was yelling obscenities at the helpless victim. The boy had a look of utter terror on his dirty, reddened face.
Bobby had only been watching for a few seconds, but now saw someone running toward the group. At first he was so startled that he did not realize who it was. He turned to say something to his friend, but Colt was not there. Bobby looked back just in time to see Colt hurtle into the three attackers with arms swinging. His loud shrieks sounded like battle cries. Colt hit one of the three attackers shoulder high and knocked him off his feet. The other two were startled, but soon recovered.
The tallest one said “He’s not that big, Andy. We can get him.”
Colt kept swinging his arms as he moved around like a boxer. But now, the bullies had regained their composure and were closing in.
“You punks! Leave him alone.” yelled Colt.
Colt looked at the victim and recognized him as a freshman that he had seen around campus. He motioned to him to get away. As he turned back to the fight, he felt his legs buckle as he was forced to the ground. The small mob of attackers held him down and pounded on him together from above. Colt kicked one attacker between his legs and felt things ease up a little, but his head continued to take a beating. Just as Colt was starting to fade into darkness, he saw a large arm come between him and those cowering above.
One of his assailants was flung aside and slammed against the fence causing a high-pitched rattling sound. Next, one large, strong arm clamped around the last attacker’s neck and he was thrown to the ground. As he hit the hard earth, air escaped from his chest with a whoosh.
Colt was free and stood up but found it difficult to stay balanced. For a moment, he felt like he would faint as the pain of his injuries came pounding in. Uh oh, I better slow down a minute. I'm feeling a bit woozy. After a few moments he regained his balance and managed to keep the pain at bay.
All three of the bullies were on the ground. One was curled up in a ball moaning and the other two were being held down in a choke hold by Bobby Jones. Both rough-looking teens had panic in their bulging eyes. Colt kicked each of them in the side.
/> “You want more, punks? You want more?” screamed Colt.
“No Colt, we didn’t know it was you,” whined one.
“Bobby, let'em go before I kill one of em.” said Colt as he hit one of them on the side of the head.
“Just leave guys. Don’t make me hurt you anymore. And don't mess with this little kid ever again,” said Bobby.
The two de-fanged attackers got up and helped the boy who was curled up in pain. All of them were hurting, which brought a slight smile to Colt’s face. They skulked away as fast as they could.
Bobby looked at Colt, who was sitting on a low wall now. His lower lip and nose were both bleeding, and his right eye was beginning to swell. In spite of his injuries, Colt was grinning.
“Hey, man, you should have waited for me. They pounded you pretty bad,” said Bobby.
“Screw those guys. Hey, I just reacted. They pissed me off and all of a sudden I was going at them. Goddam punks! I hate guys like that.”
“That kid was about to be really messed up. You saved his bacon,” said Bobby.
“Well Bobinator, you saved me. Thanks Dude. I ended up taking the kid’s place. Do you know his name?”
“I think it's Eddie Tate. I recognized him from the meeting at the Sweden’s house.”