Miracle (boyxboy)

Chapter Four

I was taking a crumb-and-okra stuffed chicken out of the oven for dinner when Maddy came bounding into the kitchen, her hair stringy from the pool, with a towel slung across her shoulders and shorts over her bright green bathing suit.

"Oh. My. God. Connor, you missed the craziest day!"

"At the pool?" That seemed doubtful, summer days at the Prickly Pear public pool were usually yawn-worthy. Kids horsing around. Water splashing. The smell of sunscreen and junk food. An inevitable cannonball contest. Two teenaged lifeguards puffing their whistles with disinterest when people ran past them.

"Yeah. Justin and Alex got into a huge fight." Her eyes were sparkling with excitement, which made sense when she added the next two words. "Over me."

I set the browning pan on top of the stove and closed up the oven, trying to hide a wince as the movement jarred my banged-up innards. "Yeah? Now who's getting themselves into trouble?"

"Hey, I didn't do anything! Alex thought it would be a good idea to smack my butt when I walked by. Then he and Justin got into it. Pushing and shoving and yelling. Justin pushed Alex into the pool and then Maisie—that's Alex's girlfriend, you know?—called me a slut so I decked her. Her brother started cussing me out so Justin punched him, and then they got into a fight too. And then basically everybody was fighting and Tyler's dad showed up with a couple officers to break it up. We all got sent home."

She looked awfully pleased for someone who'd just been kicked out of the neighborhood pool. "But before that, Mr. Crockett made sure I was okay and when he found out how it all started he said it weren't no wonder, on account of I'm so beautiful."

I cocked an eyebrow.

"And then he gave me fifty bucks."

She could have just led with that. "Fifty?!"

"Yup." She fanned a set of ten dollar bills in front of my face. "Check it out. He said he was setting an example for the boys. How to woo a pretty girl instead of fighting."

"Don't you think that's kind of weird? It sounds more like he was flirting with you himself."

"Oh, he totally was." She shrugged, tucking the cash into her back pocket.  "Happens all the time. Men are so easy."

"And it doesn't bother you?"

"Why should it? It's just for fun. All I had to do was smooch a cop's cheek. I got to teach those redneck boys a lesson, and got fifty dollars out of the deal."

I thought back to this morning. Marvin's hand trailing across my shoulders. Being called a sweet little thing. His lips on the side of my face. He hadn't offered me money, but I think if he had it would have felt just as skeezy. Actually, scratch that, it would have made it worse.

But Maddy laughed it off like it was an everyday thing. I had the sudden epiphany that maybe it was, for her. Until today I'd never thought much of the way guys flirted with her, the comments they made, the way they'd find reasons to touch her arm or her hair or whatever. She usually flirted right back, whether she liked the guy or not. Man, she probably dealt with creepy dudes like Marvin every single day. I'd even assumed at first that he'd mistaken me for her.

"Doesn't it ever, you know, scare you? Guys coming on to you like that. What if they decided to try something?"

"Well, that's why I picked me a big strong boyfriend."

I frowned at the flippancy of the answer, and I guess she realized I was thinking about earlier today. Or maybe just that my prospects of getting a big, strong boyfriend were a lot less promising. Her smile turned sympathetic.