It's Got a Beat, Mr. Jones

Ah, Spit It Out!

Jeff laid beside Mary with a burning feeling inside. He felt like a hypocrite. How could he face John after what he had done?
Jeff hated himself. He was laying next to a beautiful girl, and he had allowed himself to do things he had promised himself that he wouldn't do, at least not to a girl like her. He had trod upon every value he had pledged to uphold. The pretty words he had embellished over the years now looked fake and gross.
Mary rolled over slightly. Jeff looked over at her. When he looked at her, he was overwhelmed with feelings. He wanted to be near her, and that was something he had never experienced before now.
Jeff needed a cigarette. He needed to get outside. He rolled out of the bed, and his bare feet hit the carpet. He got dressed and walked out of his room. He made sure it was locked.
Jeff walked out of the building. He stood by the door and pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. He lit his cigarette then put his lighter up. He sat there in the night breathing in cigarette smoke. This brought him some comfort as he looked across the small town. The door opened behind him. Jeff jumped and turned.
It was Bobby. "My god, Jeff, you're wound tighter than a jack-in-the-box," Bobby said staring at Jeff.
"Maybe I am," Jeff said letting out another puff of smoke.
"Why are you so jittery?" Bobby asked.
"I don't know," Jeff said sighing.
"How'd your date go?" Bobby asked.
"It went great," Jeff said.
Bobby stared at him. "You're actin' weird," Bobby said.
Jeff nodded. He kept smoking. Bobby pulled out his own cigarette. He lit his and started to smoke too. Jeff and Bobby were silent as they smoked.
Jeff was finished with his cigarette first. He dropped the butt and crushed it with his shoe before going inside. He walked back to his hotel room. He opened the door and walked in.
Mary was still sleeping. Jeff walked over to the bed and shook her shoulder gently. "Hey, you need to get up," He said.
Mary sat up slightly. She wrapped the blankets around her. She looked extremely groggy. "What time is it?" She asked rubbing her eyes.
Jeff looked at his watch. "It's five," He said.
"Oh," Mary said quietly.
Jeff picked up her dress in a bundle from the floor and handed it to her. Her undergarments fell out of the bundle, and she blushed. Jeff found this ironic. She had just done some things much worse than just letting him see her undergarments, but she still showed the proper amount of embarrassment over him seeing them.
Jeff sat down on the bed. He had his back turned to her. She dressed behind his back. When her clothing was all-the-way on she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He could feel the fabric of her dress brush against his neck. She rested her chin on his left shoulder. Her cheek was pressed to his.
Jeff didn't move at all.
"Is something wrong?" Mary asked.
"No," Jeff said turning his head slightly.
Mary's lips caressed his cheek. He closed his eyes.
"You need to go home," Jeff said.
Mary sat up. "I don't want to go home," She said.
Jeff sighed slightly then opened his eyes and turned to her. "I'm leaving today," He said. "I've got to hit the road in an hour."
"Take me with you," Mary said. Her hand reached to him. "I don't want to stay here any longer. I couldn't stand it any longer."
Jeff groaned slightly. "I don't know how John, Bobby, and Eddie would react to that," He said.
"Please," She pleaded.
Jeff looked into Mary's eyes. She looked like she was going to cry. "I'll ask them," He said looking away from her.
Mary wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. His eyes widened, but he closed them and leaned into her. She toppled backwards so she was under him. They broke apart after some time. Both of them were panting. He was still laying on her, but his head was resting on her shoulder.
Jeff rolled off of her. He stood up and fixed his clothes. He kissed her on the cheek and then turned and walked out of the room. He knocked on Eddie's door and nobody answered, so he headed to Bobby's room and knocked.
John opened the door for him. Eddie and Bobby were already in there.
"Hey," Bobby said smiling at him.
"What's goin' on?" Jeff asked.
"Well, we're helping Bobby pack," Eddie said. "We've already packed all of my stuff and Johnny's stuff. I guess you're stuff is next."
"Nah, I'll get it," Jeff said. "So, I got a weird thing I gotta ask you..."
Eddie, John, and Bobby looked at him. Jeff sighed trying to find the words he wanted to say. He opened his mouth a few times. John stared at Jeff.
"Sooo..." Jeff started slowly.
"Ah, spit it out!" Eddie exclaimed.
"She wants to go with us," Jeff said.
"Who wants to go with us?" Bobby insisted.
"Mary," Jeff said.
"Who's Mary?" Eddie asked.
"The girl I went on a date with," Jeff replied.
"So, that's the broad's name," Bobby said.
"She isn't a broad," Jeff said indignantly.
"So, your girl wants to go with us?" Eddie asked.
"Yeah, basically," Jeff said.
Eddie, Bobby, and John stared at Jeff in silence. Bobby ran his fingers through his hair. Eddie stared at Jeff with honest to god amazement.
"Let's take her with us," John said shattering the silence.
Jeff turned to look at John in surprise. "Well, you're letting me take Denise with us," John said. "We might as well take your girl with us too."
Bobby shrugged. "I guess I haven't got a problem with it," He said.
Eddie smiled at Jeff. "It might help the band's moral if we have a pretty girl with us," He said.
Jeff smiled at his three friends. They were the best friends he could ever have.
"I'll go pack my things and tell her," Jeff said rushing out of Bobby's room.
Bobby laughed. "I don't know if he's more of an adult than all of us or more of a child than any of us," He commented.
Jeff ran to his room. He opened the door. Mary was laying on her back on the bed. Jeff walked towards her and looked down at her.
"They said you could come," Jeff said.
Mary smiled widely. "Really?!" She said excitedly. She jumped up from the bed and wrapped her arms around his neck. He spun her is circles then set her down.
"I've gotta pack," Jeff said suddenly thinking about it. He ran to his bags and started putting all his clothing and stuff into his bag. He did it quickly since he never brought a lot of stuff.
Jeff picked up his bag and walked towards the door. He opened it and looked around. He gestured for Mary to follow him and walked out of the hotel. He put his bag into the bus.
"Now, we need to go get your things from your house," Jeff said.
Jeff and Mary walked towards Mary's house quickly. Mary snuck into the backdoor first and Jeff followed. They stole quietly to Mary's bedroom.
Mary's bedroom was exactly as a young woman's room should be. Everything was in its place. There was nothing on the floor and nothing littering her desk. Mary pulled her suitcase down from the top shelf in her closet. She began to pack her clothing, only some of them though. She knew she couldn't take all her clothes. She left behind the less attractive clothing and the less comfortable clothing. She made sure she had everything she would need.
Mary picked up a pencil and a piece of paper from her desk. She sat down and wrote on the paper a simple note to her mother.
'Mother,
I cannot stand another day in this place. I am an adult now and I am making my own choices. I am leaving this town for good. I will write though. I love you still,
Mary'
Jeff and Mary snuck down to the kitchen and placed the note in a place that Mary's mother could see and easily find it. Jeff remembered writing a similar letter to his mother when he left for the first time.
Jeff and Mary then left Mary's house. They ran towards the bus, which was waiting for them at the hotel. They loaded Mary's stuff up. Jeff checked his watch for the time.
It was six o'clock.