"Hey Ginny, guess what. Keith asked me to be his girlfriend." My smile rivaled the Cheshire cat's. "And he's taking me out on Saturday. All day!" I wanted to bounce up and down on the seat. I'd never felt this happy before in my life. Well, maybe when I was about five or something. You get the picture though. I wanted to share that happiness. I couldn't keep it to myself. I had to tell my friends at least.
"Oh no! Jay-Lin, what are you THINKING?" Ginny's hiss promptly deflated that happiness. "You CAN'T go out with that guy, I mean, he's a BIKER for god's sake. Everyone was talking about you after you left with him. You can't ... you just can't." She sounded like she was going to cry. She sounded so concerned. She sounded...
I smiled. "Ginny, you sound like my Mom, okay. Stop it right now. You're wasting your time, I'm his girlfriend, okay. Wait till I tell you what we did yesterday." Saying that made me feel so happy. I was Keith's girlfriend. I was his. I was riding high on a cloud of euphoria and not even Ginny's obvious disapproval could dent that. I so wanted to share my happiness with my best friend. With all my friends.
"You're really his girlfriend? He asked you? You said yes?" Ginny's dismayed squeal carried. Heads for three seats around turned and looked. Ginny didn't even notice. "Jay-Lin, you're crazy, you can't, not that guy, I mean, oh god, I've been trying so hard to set you up with a nice boyfriend... "She buried her head in her hands for a second, then looked up, ignoring my attempt to quieten her down. "This only happened yesterday afternoon, right? We can fix this. It's not too late to do some damage control here."
"Damage control? Ginny, just stop right there, okay. I'm not crazy. He's the most amazing guy. We went for this totally wonderful ride on his Harley for miles and miles and miles." I just wanted to hug myself at the memory. "And he's, like, so strong. You should see his muscles." Thinking about those arms and shoulders and chest of his made me feel a little hot and bothered right then and there despite Ginny's bitching annoying me. I could just about feel his muscles under my fingers. "He's a really nice guy and he's just such a hunk."
"Hunk? Jay-Lin, have you lost your mind? I mean, how old is he for christ's sake? Thirty? Thirty is not hunky. Thirty is old! You can't date him Jay-Lin. You just ... You can't."
"Jesus Ginny, calm down can't you, he's my boyfriend, not yours. Anyhow, he's not thirty." I didn't tell her he was thirty five. That'd just make her worse. "And there's nothing here to fix. Get that through your head will you. Keith's my boyfriend and I love him." I'd said it to someone else. I'd admitted it. I loved him. I knew I did. Okay, so it was fast, we hadn't even gone on a real date. But so what. I loved him. Now I'd admitted it to myself.
"Oh Jesus Jay-Lin, this is worse than I thought. You so CANNOT be in love with that guy. You're dating some old biker pervert that likes schoolgirls, he's just taking advantage of you, can't you see. He's taking you for a ride. Please Jay-Lin, don't do this. We can fix this. We can fix this somehow."
Now I was getting mad. What the heck was wrong with her? It was my life, not hers. Keith was my boyfriend, not hers. "Ginny, just quit now, okay. I never complained about all those stupid jerks you set me up with on dates, okay. Every single one of them sucked and did I ever get mad at you? No, I did not."
I took a deep breath. "Okay, maybe I did, but Ginny, they were jerks."
I was NOT going to yell at Ginny. She was my best friend, I knew she'd always tried to do her best for me. It was just, her taste in guys and my taste in guys had never seemed to coincide. I just needed to convince her I was serious about Keith. Really serious. That was all. "So now I find a guy I really like, I find him all on my own, a guy that is so NOT a jerk and you don't approve just because he's not your kind of guy and you think he's too old for me. Well, all those guys you tried to set me up with were so NOT my kind of guy Ginny. You want to fix things? Well, get this through your head, Keith is so NOT fixable, okay. Keith is mine and I'm his girlfriend and I love him and that's that. I'm going out with him and you are NOT changing my mind! So don't waste your time Ginny, okay."
I smiled at her. Okay, she was my best friend, I knew she was concerned for me. I knew Keith was so right for me. "Keith, he just feels so right for me, Ginny. I mean, when he kissed me, I just wanted to melt into his arms and stay there forever!" That kiss. That last kiss in the hallway. I wasn't telling Ginny where he kissed me but the memory had me panting.
"He kissed you? You let that guy kiss you? JAY-LIN! What are you thinking?" She shook her head. "No no no, you're not thinking straight Jay-Lin, this guy, he's a biker. ... He's probably a ... a drug dealer or something like that, like those ... those biker gangs. I mean, we all saw him Jay-Lin. Everyone saw him. Everyone was talking about you after you left with him on that motorcycle. He's really scary, he's dangerous. He's got one of those biker gang patches on his jacket or whatever it is for god's sake."
"Ginny, he rides a Harley. He belongs to a motorcycle club. They all wear those patch thingies. But he's not, like, a one percenter or anything like that."
"See, you already know all that stuff and you only met him on Saturday. God Jay-Lin, this is so scary, you got me so worried about you. I couldn't sleep last night. You gotta think things through. Don't get carried away, just at least promise me to think about it. I mean, maybe take a break. Think about it. You CAN change your mind about him, I can find you a nice guy...I'm sure I can find someone you'll really like ... just hold off Jay-Lin ... Don't get carried away ... "
"GINNY! I am NOT going to take a break. I am not carried away!" Well, I was, I knew, but I didn't care. "I am so NOT changing my mind, okay! Every guy you've come up with that I've dated has been a total jerk. I am so NOT going to ditch the guy I love for some looser who thinks it's cool to put a spoiler on a Mercedes SLK. I mean, get real. That's just so ... so stupid!"
I took another deep breath. I was SO not in control of myself arguing about Keith. I didn't care. I was upset. Really upset. "Ginny, for the first time in my entire life I've found a guy I really like. Shit, let's be clear here, for the first time in my entire life I've found a guy I love. I love him, okay. And he likes me, he really does, and I know he looks a bit scary but he's wonderful, he's just so ... so dreamy... and he's not pushy or anything. He cares for me Ginny, he really does."
"You're dreaming Jay-Lin." Ginny cut me off. "There's nothing dreamy about that guy. He's a biker. He's scary. He's dangerous. Jesus Jay-Lin, you read the news, those bikers, they stab people and they shoot people and he probably wants to turn you into a stripper or a hooker or a drug addict or something. God Jay-Lin, Now I'm so worried ... you gotta ditch him now Jay-Lin, before it's too late, before something happens and it's too late to do anything about it..."
"She's right Jay-Lin." Jesus, what the hell was the Chua bitch doing joining in. When the hell did she take the seat in front of us? What was this? Some kind of public debate on my boyfriend? And what the hell were her and Ginny doing on the same side, ganging up on me? "I mean, don't get me wrong, I think you're a snotty stuck up bitch and everything... You too, loser" she said in an aside to Ginny, "but those bikers, they're dangerous. They beat up Hartman a few weeks ago just coz he cut one of them off."
"When I want you to talk, I'll pull your chain," I snapped at the Chua bitch. "You're talking, hanging out with those guys and their rice cars. Everyone knows they run a chop shop and deal drugs on the side. And you're talking to me about my boyfriend? At least I've only got one, I don't bang the whole gang." I saw that one go home. I'd heard the gossip too. So that one was true?
The Chua bitch turned the color of a white sheet. "You little bitch." Her voice was a snarl. "I'm just trying to do you a favor here, but if you want to...
"Bite me," I snarled right back at her.
"That's it," the Chua bitch yelled, half standing.
"Jay-Lin," Ginny wailed, grabbing my arm just as the Chua bitch went to slap me. Ginny's hand pulled me off balance. The Chua bitch's hand hit my cheek with a smack that sounded down the length of the bus, knocking me back down into the seat. Next second she was half over the back of the seat trying to hit me and pull my hair while I covered my head with my arms. Ginny was screaming and yelling. The Chua bitch was screaming. Half the bus was yelling.
"Stop it ... stop it." I could hear myself screaming. I was terrified, crying. She wouldn't stop hitting me. She just kept on and on and I couldn't do anything because Ginny kept getting in the way when I tried to get my arms up to push the Chua bitch away.
"Quit it Pauline," someone was yelling as well. One of the Chua bitch's friends was grabbing her, pulling her back. Without the Chua bitch hitting me, I had enough room to give Ginny a push to get her off me. I was still crying but now I was mad as well. That Chua bitch'd hit me and hit me and pulled my hair and slapped me and I wasn't taking that. Scared as I was, I went straight for her, punching her in the nose as hard as I could.