CRIMINAL.

CHAPTER 10

I lean down to take off my sandals and stick my feet out of the window of the Cadillac, knowing Ricky won't mind.

Ricky has asked me to take a spin in the car with him again and I was glad for the invitation. Not just because I wanted to spend some time with him, but also because the gang wouldn't leave me alone about kissing Ricky. This morning, Jackie and Sweet Pea had surrounded my bed, asking me when I was going to kiss him or if he kissed me yet. I want to kiss him badly, but I'm nervous. I mean, what would his reaction be? Will he be mad? Will he not like me anymore?

Plus, it's my first kiss. I don't know how it would work out.

"Having fun there, baby?" Ricky asks, erasing my train of though and making me blush at the nickname.

"Yes," I answer, putting my feet back into the car only to put them on the dashboard. "I am. I'm having a lot of fun."

Ricky throws his head back and laughs, and I feel my whole stomach flip-flop.

I love his laugh.

I love everything about him.

I look at the clock. 10:12. We've been driving around since 9:00 with the windows down, just talking and listening to the radio. We've stopped at a few drive-thrus and wandered the aisles of twenty-four hour grocery stores. We'd bought a bag of chips, a bag of sugary candies with neon food-coloring and artificial flavors, and two bottles of Coke. Ricky poured a third of his Coke out into the street and poured some whiskey that he stole from one of the grocery stores into it.

"Well, I was afraid of this, my dear Kate," he says, popping a blue candy into his mouth.

"What?" I ask, sipping my Coke with a red straw.

He stops the car at a red light and looks at me with fake-seriousness. "We have run out of things to do," he says.

"Then we could just drive around to pass the time," I say, desperate to stay in the car with him.

He suddenly looks at me and a smile creeps on his lips.

"You wanna go get drunk?" he asks.

"No," I answer which causes him to laugh.

"Don't worry," he says, and hands me his whiskey-Coke. "Just take a sip."

Not wanting him to think of me as a coward, I do and I wish I didn't. The whiskey burns in my throat and I cough into my fist.

"Weak," Ricky says, teasingly. "I'm gonna have to teach you how to drink, girl."

My heart beats faster and I take another drink. This time, the burning isn't that bad and when it gets into my stomach, it feels bubbly and warm.

"That was better," he says.

I pop a red candy from the bag into my mouth and roll it around in my mouth. It tastes like strawberries. When I look back up, I see that we have stopped in front of a club. I look from the blinking, neon-colored sign that says "Crash" to Ricky's smiling eyes.

"Relax," he says. "We're not going here to drink. We're just gonna dance."

Before I can even reply, he's out of the car and walking over to the passenger's side. He opens the door and stands there. Probably waiting for me to get out, but I don't. I just sit there, my feet dangling off the side of the seat, my head down.

"Dammit, Kate," Ricky says. "Didn't I say not to put your head down like that?"

I still don't look up.

Eventually, he tilts my face up to meet his and looks into my eyes.

"Talk to me," he says.

 "I don't want to go into this club even if it's just to dance," I say. "I mean, what if I do something stupid in there? I'm even dressed to go in there." I motion my hand towards the white MTV tank top I borrowed from Jackie, my jean shorts, and yellow sandals.