The Boy Who Blackmailed Me.

Bemused, My Friend?

© Copyright - All rights reserved 2015 Gwendolyn McCoy

It all started on a regular day. A cloudy one. Dave Leeworth, the weatherman this morning, assured me some rain and a thunderstorm today, but he was wrong with the weather all week. So, I didn't depend on it today.

School went by in a hurry for some odd reason. Usually, the day was monotonous and uneventful, but I had some erratic feeling today wasn't that case. School was over, yet the day wasn't.

The stormy clouds above me circulated throughout the now darkened sky. Still, I went against what Dave had said this morning.

Before the sun hid behind the clouds, I decided to soak up the last ten seconds of vitamin D that was still left. I sat on the hood of my red, 2012 Volvo S60 T6 -- my baby -- waiting for a friend to come out. I'd misplaced my key-locked diary earlier, throughout the day and wondered if she had with her. Perhaps I'd given it to her and she carried it along with her. I deeply hoped she had. Where the heck was she anyway?

That's when he walked out through the school's side doors leading into the parking lot where I was. At the exact same timing, thunder hit less than a mile away, causing me to jump. How ironic . . . I heard a chuckle not too far away and looked up to find him walking toward me with this jaws full of giggles and his cold eyes set on me.

Oh great, I thought. Weatherman, Dave was right after all.

Derrick Smith. The blond-haired, cold-hearted, cocky delinquent. He was bad news, as in always bad news. I know it's stupid to listen to rumors, but a certain feeling about Mr. Bad-Boy-Popular had me. The whole school thought of him as the coolest bad boy a school's football jock could get. But, me? No, I tried to stay away from him as far as I could to prevent any problem of the absurdity that went through his dare devil mind. Well, that was until now as he got closer and closer to me and my baby, my Volvo.

"Hey, Babe." He winked, making a uncomfortable. I knew straight away this wasn't going to be good. His eyes still held that cold look. I just stared, praying that his presence would be gone.

Instead he cleared his throat. "What's your name, Babe? Uh, Kristen, is it?"

How the heck did he know my name? . . . See, this is the exact reason I stayed away from him. He was up to no good and I could hear it when he spoke.

Still, I kept my mouth shut. His deep articulation hinted the smallest accent of country. "I've got something for you." And then, he leaned against my Volvo, a bit to close that I could smell the demonized, dare-deviling odor.

Now, I was aghast but I wouldn't dare show it on my face. Instead, I spoke up, hoping it would speed up the process and that he'd leave already. "Can I help you?" I was sure the bitterness hung onto my words.

"There, there now." He said slowly, attempting to sound like an old school teacher. "That's not the way to greet anyone, now is it?" His right hand gently slid down my left cheek, causing me to shiver just the slightest.

"Don't touch me." I bit, shifting away so his hand wasn't touching my cheek anymore. He chuckled softly.

"Feisty, are we?" His tone changed into a low, huskier one. "Like I said, I have something for you." I just sat there, looking right over his shoulder.

"Kristen, right?" He asked and I nodded slowly, a bit suspicious. A small, wicked smile crept upon his face afterward. "So, your Bobby's ex-girl. You know, the one that broke up with you because of a 'little secret'." The way his words rolled off his tongue, the way the bit bitterly, made me uncomfortable again. I knew exactly what he was talking about. But, most likely he didn't know the secret-secret part. The part where -- last summer -- I kissed my now ex-boyfriend Bobby and he told me I kissed like a "choo-choo train". That was the most embarrassing moment of my life. I know that it may not embarrassing to most people, but he was my first kiss and for a guy to tell a girl that, for the first time, kissed like slimy frog or anything bad for that matter, it'd hurt. For my boyfriend of only a week to tell me I kissed like a choo-choo train -- that was way too embarrassing. He broke up with me the next day. Ever since, he promised to keep my secret -- that I kissed like a train . . . I never really understood the deal.