Call Me, Poppy

  “Ladies. Now. Move it,” the guard shouted.

  Annoyed, the girls ignored him as if he were a gnat in their ear. Six months in juvie will do that to ya.

  “Let me talk to them again. Even if I have to withdraw the money from my trust when the banks open in the morning, I’ll get you out of here. I promise.”

  “Thank you, Vive,” I said.

  “Then we both should stay here tonight with Lex,” Taddy suggested.

  “No…” Sure. I wanted them to say. I did. But that would be wrong of me. They needed to leave.

  “Actually Taddy, if we’re gonna get my dad and his lawyer to defend Lex, I’ll need your help.”

  “What can I do?”

  “Well, during our quiet time I got to thinking. And we should say we’re gonna be tried alongside Lex. Once we make it clear to Mr. Shapiro that the three of us are in this together, my dad will do whatever’s necessary to clear Lex’s name.”

  Hearing Vive’s words made the gash in my heart stop.

  “Makes sense. Taddy, get out of here,” I begged, pushing her toward the door.

  “We’ll be back before the end of the night.” While hugging me, I inhaled her faint scent, tuberose.

  “Lex, I’ll get you out.” Vive gave me a kiss on the cheek and said, “My offer stands for you to move in with us at the Sherry Netherland after we get you out.”

  “I love you, Vive.” My arms wrapped tightly around her narrow waist.

  Vive’s body shook a little. “I’m sorry for everything. Please forgive me.”

  “Apology accepted.”

  Underneath Vive’s hard shell was a heart bigger than the Empire State Building. Today, I’m reminded of that.

  Shoulders broad, Officer Gotti stood tall near the cell. The doors opened. My friends walked out and waved goodbye.

  He stared at me as if ready to come back for round two. His face said, “LIAR!”

  I hadn’t lied to Officer Gotti. Earlier, I’d admitted my guilt. I just hadn’t corrected Taddy and Vive as they professed my so-called innocence moments ago. Nor had I been honest to the judge when we’d pleaded not guilty.

  Okay, Okay, Okay. Who was I kidding? Certainly not myself. I was a lying piece of Hedda’s poo. How could I tell the truth? What if this went to trial? What if Birdie didn’t take the blame?

  We’d learned from past experience not to tell the authorities a thing. They weren’t our friends.

  I was mad at myself for admitting I’d started the fire when they first asked. I hadn’t imagined it would end in an entire penthouse floor being destroyed.

  The doors closed.

  He didn’t leave with them. He kept on watching me.

  A guard walked back and forth checking the cells.

  I used that time to ask myself two important questions. One, was I nervous to talk to him by myself? Hells yeah! And two, could I keep my mouth shut, not telling the truth without my besties here to talk for me? Maybe. Maybe not.

  Suddenly, from the top of my head to my tippy toes, a tingle started. It wasn’t from the synthetic orange fabric I wore. Oh no. This was a sensation of hyperawareness. I’d felt self conscious before but this was ridiculous.

  His expressive face, catalog model-worthy for sure, talked to me. His mind was racing in judgments about who I was and what I’d done. His accusatory stares infuriated me.

  For some unknown reason, I wanted his approval more than anything. I ached for him to believe me and that today was an accident, a misunderstanding.

  Fudge, I didn’t even know him. I shouldn’t give a flip what he thought about me. I didn’t care how the TV portrayed me or what Birdie and her fans thought of me either. This explosion wasn’t only putting my plus-sized bum on the line but my besties boney butts as well. I had to stick to the story.

  After the guard had gone and it was just me alone in my cell, Officer Gotti stepped closer.

  Both of us remained silent.

  The room spun as my WWF, Scorpion King, Hulk on a Harley, inked up demi-god mirage in the desert returned.

  My vision blurred. Confused? Heck yeah. Tummy tossing? I felt oddly aroused. I know!

  At a time like this, how could I be…horny? I just blew up Mom, and my two besties had left me. My hormones rocketed into overdrive. I forced a smile to show he didn’t make me nervous. Heat came off my skin. Slowly I wiped the perspiration off the back of my neck by knotting my hair into a bun. That was a ladylike trick I’d learned at Avon Porter.

  “You okay? Now that your friends are gone.”

  “Woo, it’s warm in here is all.” I was scared as hell but I wouldn’t show it.

  “It sure is.” He grinned, focusing on my face. “Miss Farnworth has a sweet dog.”

  I liked how Officer Gotti understood I didn’t want to talk about the facts of the case anymore. Mentioning Hedda was sweet. He was sweet. Or was it some warm-up technique they’d taught him at the police academy to get me to open up? Hmmm.

  “Hedda Hopper. Everyone loves Vive’s furbaby. Is she okay?”

  “She cried a bit so I fed her my lunch. She’ll be fine.”

  “Good.” I couldn’t believe he’d given her dog his lunch. Oh, he was good! But I can see right through him. Vive had said he was playing a game with us. Well, I got your number buddy.

  “I got the sense Hedda doesn’t spend much time without Miss Farnworth.”

  “Never. Today was the longest Vive’s ever been away from Hedda. She takes great care of that dog as if she were her—” I stopped myself from saying the word, baby.

  “Her what?”

  “Never mind.” I lifted my chin. I didn’t want to get into our Avon Porter past with Officer Gotti. Judge Calabrese had already dragged it up enough today.

  “Before I go, is there anything you’d like to tell me?”

  “About what?” I tried to play dumb. Like one of those Hilton girls.

  “In regards to earlier at your mom’s place?”

  “No. Not really. I’ve already said too much. Plus you stated, when you pulled me over, that this was out of your jurisdiction.”

  “That is correct. I’m not on this case.”

  “Probably explains why you weren’t even at our arraignment.” I leaned forward pressing myself against the bars searching him for a reason. Why did he take an interest?

  There was a slight breeze blowing down the hall. I closed my eyes for a second and imagined it as fresh air from outside. The air stunk.

  “True, I may be called to give a statement or be a witness for the prosecution.”

  “Naturally, that makes sense.” I tried to hide my despair. Everyone seemed to be against me.

  Quickly I added up everyone that wasn’t on Team Lex. Let’s see, my ex-boyfriend, Mom, probably Dad, Vive and Taddy—if they changed their minds, and now the authorities.

  Ironic, wasn’t it? This summer, I wanted to get screwed for my birthday. Boy, did I. Thanks Kelle, you stuck it to me good, you li’l pigtard.

  “It’s my job to say what I heard and saw.” He cocked his head to look at me.

  Hmmm. Maybe Officer Gotti and I should stop talking all together. If he’s going to testify, I can’t say anything more other than, “Thanks again for checking in on Mom.”

  “The doctors said she’ll be fine. Her burns weren’t serious.”

  “Wait…you spoke to the doctors?”

  “Yup. I had to make certain Mrs. Easton was good.”

  What a guilt trip this man gave me. He’d fed the dog. He’d visited Mom and met with the medical staff taking care of her. What was next?

  My realization of this cop’s selflessness made me want to—drop to my knees and give him a blowjob. TMI? Well it’s the truth.

  Alright, the fact that he was, as Vive and Taddy had pointed out, the hottest cop we’d ever seen didn’t hurt either.

  “Officer Gotti.”

  “Call me Ford.”

  “Mmm…Ford,” I said huskily, as if his big fat cock—assuming it was like the res
t of him, ginormous and all muscle—had shoved itself down my throat. “It means a lot to me that you care.” “I want the truth to prevail.” His chest rose as he went to walk away.

  “Before you go, I must say, if there’s any chance that you might be called to be a witness for the prosecution, please know I don’t have a motive to kill Birdie. I didn’t intend for any of this to happen.”

  His chin dipped in obvious disagreement with what I’d said. “My colleagues spoke with your boyfriend. Mr. Dolley’s statement says otherwise.”

  Oh. My. God. Gripping the bars tightly, I held myself up. After hearing him speak, it was as if someone had pushed me off the observation deck at Rockefeller Center.

  Land on your feet girl, I told myself.

  “Kelle is my ex-boyfriend. And whatever he said to the police, I’m sure it was a lie because he, like Birdie, wasn’t in his right frame of mind.”

  “They did drugs together?” Sincerity in his eyes, that I hadn’t notice before, made me all the more confused about who I could trust.

  “Officer Gotti—”

  “Ford,” he voiced in a warm tone.

  “Please. Stop. You’re interrogating me.”

  “No. I’m not. I’m trying to help you. But you won’t let me.” The veins in his neck popped. Ford seemed uncomfortable with my position. “Why won’t you trust me?”

  “I don’t know you.”

  “Miss Easton, I’m the law. Nothing more. Nothing less.” He stood up a bit on his toes, making him one of the tallest men I’d ever seen.

  “When it comes to your laws, I have Taddy and Vive to consider, not just myself.” I shook my head realizing I indeed had a motive to kill Mom. “I must appear to you and the department like some fat celebrity’s daughter out for revenge to destroy my pretty and talented mother for—”

  “Don’t say that. Don’t talk about yourself in such a way.” He looked at me. And I don’t mean he stared at the green eye shadow I wore or the vampy color I’d lined my lips. No. Ford took in all of me. From my pointy nipples to my curvy hips, then he grinned, winked, and complimented, “You’re not fat.”

  “Oh no?” Forget the earlier tingle, my body was on flippin’ tamale fire as if I’d eaten a big ass bag of cinnamon red hots.

  “Nope. You’re beautiful.”

  Never mind holy Hannah as a reply in my head. Ford’s words called for herald angels to sound off their trumpets between my ears. Ohhh. Fuckity fuck.

  “Ford, I thought you said this was out of your jurisdiction.”

  “It is.”

  “Then why are you getting involved?”

  “As I stated earlier, I’m new to the force. Sympathy for criminals isn’t supposed to happen and it hasn’t—”

  “I am no criminal!” I corrected him.

  “—But feeling empathy for a seventeen-year-old girl, whose mother robs her of a future while her boyfriend becomes a witness for the prosecution in exchange for having his DUI charges dropped after he’s broken her heart? That I do have.” Ford summed up my nightmare in one quick breath.

  Hot, wet tears flowed down my cheeks. Unable to speak, not wiping my face, I let my pain show. Not once had I cried since we’d been thrown in here. I nearly puked a few times, sure. But I left crying up to Vive.

  I didn’t know what to say other than thank you. So I muttered it as best as I could.

  “You’re welcome.” At his sides, his big hands fisted as if frustrated, and then he said quietly, in a masculine steady voice, “Good night, Lex.”

  The only thing holding me back from running into his arms and hugging him? Ahem, the same thing which had prevented me from devouring a fuck-it bucket earlier, these jail bars.

  Standing in the cell, I studied the v-taper of backside as he walked away, hoping he’d return and talk to me some more.

  He didn’t.

  No friends. No Ford. Vive never brought the money. Taddy didn’t return. Where in the heck was Blake?

  Riker’s reported there wasn’t any room for me at the other jail tonight, and my transfer to another prison cell would be sometime tomorrow morning.

  For a second I imagined I was up in the air, jetting to Paris. Our flight would’ve taken off by now if we’d gone.

  Alone in itchy orange, I sat on the cement floor. The air conditioning shut off.

  I waited for someone to bail me out.

  No one did.

  Man Candy

  “In the ninth I met the girls. The first to introduce herself to me in algebra class had been Vive Farnworth—her Swedish features were striking. Next was Taddy Brill. Near my locker, at almost six-feet tall, her long legs stopped hallway traffic. However, the real beauty was Lex Easton, and we’d met in gym class. Socially Lex was feisty and challenging. Her expressive eyes and sharp tongue kept my interest. Never seeing gay or straight, black or white, rich or poor, Lex took classmates for who they were, her peers. Students had taunted Lex, calling her Lady Big Boned. In time, the name calling had escalated to PFB: pretty face but. By our senior year their torment had left permanent scars. Now after graduation, I hope her self-esteem will recover. I tell Lex every chance I get that curvy girls are sexy. My best friend Lex Easton is fucking sexy. I see it. And I pray one day soon she’ll see it too.” —Blake Morgan, undecided college major, optimistic husband hunter

  Fuck-it Buckets

  “Let me feel your hot mouth on me, birthday girl.” With legs as tall as the trees in Central Park, Ford stood over me. Back arched, his worked-out chest apparent. And then, I noticed his bugling erection…

  Oh. My. God.

  I don’t know what the flip happened. Last thing I remembered was the guard had shouted, “Lights out.”

  Dreaming? Yes. I’d fallen asleep. Except this dream wasn’t in broad daylight on the side of highway like the one I’d had before getting my bum arrested, no siree.

  It must be nighttime. Totally out of it, I was sound asleep. I could tell because this fantasy felt more real to me.

  “Mmm,” I inhaled deeply.

  There was a faint muskiness between us.

  Is this what sex smelled like?

  Sex, I was sniffing sex! I wanted to bathe in it and wear him like my Diorama perfume.

  Slowly I sat up from the bench I’d rested on and glided my hands up and down Ford’s wonderous quads.

  “Nice legs.” With a mind all their own, my nails raked back and forth.

  “I like that.”

  “Whaa?”

  “You…stimulating me.” His legs muscles were rock hard as if he flexed. And the bulge in the front of his pants swelled.

  “Would you like me to?” I tugged at his zipper then stopped, waiting for a reply, hoping he’d say yes.

  “It’s your birthday. You’re a grown woman now, Lex. You can do whatever you want.” Leaning down to kiss me, there was no waiting for permission. His right hand grabbed gently at my jaw cupping my face to his and then bam! His tongue filled my mouth.

  My ears rang when our mouths danced.

  His words knocked some kind of sense into me. He was right. I was a woman. I could do whatever the heck I wanted. If I yearned to go down on Ford, I could.

  And so…I did.

  Unzipping his fly, I then tugged at his pants.

  They fell to the cement floor.

  Ford wore dark navy boxers. The shadow of his cock jetted through the cotton fabric.

  Spectacular.

  Ginormous.

  Mine. All mine. Not Mom’s.

  “I want to taste you, Ford. Please. Let me.” Slowly I tucked my fingers into the elastic waistband of his shorts.

  “I’m all yours.” He smiled down at me, inviting me to finish undressing him.

  Palm open, I ran my left hand over his washboard abs, grazing the black fuzz of his naval. “Does that feel good?”

  “Don’t stop.” Ford sucked in a short breath. His body quaked.

  “You okay?”

  “Keep touching me. This…you, us, is great.” Hi
s black eyes stared intently at me, making me hot.

  “Anything you say.” My heart jolted. While pulling down his shorts, I pressed my face to his crotch and started kissing him slowly, a little to the left and then to the right. I stopped in the center.

  He stood there sexy as hell.

  Erect, sticking straight out and slightly up, his penis was what I’d imagined all penises should be, per-effin’-fection.

  Keep in mind I’ve only touched one man’s privates in my entire life. Kelle. And his goods weren’t great. Not when compared to Ford’s.

  “Lick the tip.” He grabbed his cock, thrusting it toward my hungry mouth.

  My pulse pounded, creating a thunderous urge. Forget the peanut M&M’s. There was real man candy to enjoy. Nipping the tip of his cock between my lips, I sensed his girth. Holy moly. “Ford,” I said, swallowing the fear down the back of my throat. “Ummm.”

  “What does Lex want?”

  “You,” I replied, knowing of only one answer.

  “Show me. Go on.” Tugging gently, he teased then with a yank, and his privates stared back at me.

  I opened my mouth in anticipation.

  A glow came over him. Gently, he held on to the back of my head bringing my lips and the head of his dick together. His nearness overwhelmed me. I felt the electricity of his touch as I licked at his hard flesh.

  “Wait…” I jerked my neck back, studying his body one more time. With my fingers, I massaged him wondering if he believed me to be the type of girl who’d try and kill their own mother. “Do you still think I intentionally tried to hurt Birdie?”

  “Never once did I believe yesterday was anything more than an accident.”

  “That’s good to hear.” I stroked the warm skin between his legs.

  “You’re only looking out for your friends. You care about them.”

  “I do. I love them. And Ford, I want to be with you. I want to see what caring for you will feel like too.” I leaned into him with no regrets.

  “Let me guide you, birthday girl.” His cock slowly slid into my mouth.

  Between my lips, I licked, long strokes. Starting at the base of his shaft, I ran my tongue up and down his hard flesh. My tongue dipped at the hole on the tip of his cock. I swallowed the moisture seeping from him and tasted a surge of salty sweetness. Smiling up at him with my eyes, I repeated, giving him pleasure on the other side.