Greaser Girl

Mr. Winston

Two Bit

About five minutes after I laid down in Maia's bed. She rolls over and wraps her arms around me, burying her face in my chest. I wrap my arms tighter around her and kiss her hair.

"What's wrong?" I ask quietly.

"I just need you, that's all." Maia says quietly and I run my hand down her hair.

"Don't worry, baby. I'm not going anywhere." I assure her.

I can't see her face but I'm guessing she's on the verge of tears. Soda told me about Dally, she has a reason to be. Dally is the only family she has. Her dad isn't good with them. Their mom was a soc that shouldn't have been a soc. She was like a greaser/soc and she left the family a month or so back. Maia and Dally keep saying that she'll be back but even then know it's not true.

I think Maia was six, she had made it to the gymnastics finals for her age group. She only made the team because of her mother's former soc status. Maia was good and she probably could've gone to the Olympics if she kept at it (I think she could still go. If you were to walk past the Winston house on the weekends or during summer vacation, you would see Maia practicing beam on the 4x4s of her back fence), she quit when she was ten after her parents lost their minds. We all convinced our parents to let us go and watch her compete. Maia had placed first in her age group all in all. We were all so proud of her.

I know without looking that the far wall of her room is still lined with medals from her gymnastics days. Pictures of all of us at the competitions with her. Like the one where she was about six standing between Steve and Soda, she was wearing three gold medals.  Or my personal favourite, it's a picture of the two of us after her last competition when she was ten. Maia had placed first in all of her events and that was the day I realized how much I liked her.

I close my eyes and drift off to sleep knowing I was going to relive that moment.

Maia was sitting with us before her last event the beam. The beam has always been her favourite event but she was always worried about it, like something would go wrong. Her long brown hair is braided tightly to her skull and he big blue eyes matches her uniform. She pulled a leather jacket over her singlet for gymnastics. I look over to her and give her a reassuring smile.
"I'm scared, Two." She admits.
"Don't be, Maia. You'll do great, you always do." I tell her and she half smiles.
"I really don't know, Two Bit." Maia says and I light up.
"I do. I'm so sure that you'll place first that I'll make you a bet." I challenge and she smiles.
"What's the bet?" Maia wonders.
"No matter what, you've gotta give it your all though." I remind her and she nods.
"Of course." Maia agrees.
"If you don't place gold, I will give you my pocket knife." I say and pull it out of my jacket pocket. "If you get gold, you need to kiss me."
"I've gotta kiss you?" She questions and I laugh.
"Yeah, you really do." I smile and hold out my hand. "A bet's a bet."
"You're on, Two. I'm gonna love having your knife." Maia smiles.
Low and behold, Maia did her routine perfectly and won gold. She has to kiss me. After the picture was taken of the two of us, she went to get changed and everyone else went to go get ready to go. Well let's be honest, they were chasing girls from other teams. Maia walked out of the change room looking normal, jeans and an old leather jacket of Dally's. Her style hasn't really changed. Her brown hair falls in curls around her face, framing her big blue eyes.
"Let's get this over with." She says but has a smile on her face.
"Let's." I smile.
I take half a step closer to her but she takes two quite steps towards me and literally runs into me. Her mouth lands on mine as just as quick as it got there it was gone again.
"Congratulations, Mi." I tell her and she smiles.
"Thanks, Two Bit."
The whole ride home, Maia never once left my mind. I just she has always been pretty and funny but now she's kissed me as well.
From the moment on, I've liked her. I mean after all, she was my first kiss. I wish I could say she was my only. One this is for certain, I want her to be my last.