Is This What You Always Want Me For?

Part 5

Frank and I continued to walk across the yard and past all the other students sitting at tables. We headed towards the side of the school building, and where it connected to the gym. I thought we were going to continue past it but instead Frank pulled me into a small space between the buildings. I looked around and noticed a broken picnic table leaning against the building. All the legs had been broken on one side and it was supported by the wall. Seated on this dying table were two boys. The smaller one had glasses on and was reading a comic book. The other one was a boy with a curly fro. I looked across from them and wasn't surprised to see Gerard. He was seated on the ground, his back against the wall. Beside him I saw a pretty slender girl. She had high cheek bones, piercing green eyes, and jet black hair. Both of them had a cigarette placed firmly in their lips.

"Hey Frank," Gerard said giving a small nod in our direction.

Frank didn't answer he just walked over to Gerard and accepted a cigarette. Because my hand was still grasped in his, I followed reluctantly into the smoke.

Frank let go of my hand to light his cigarette. He took a long drag and grabbed my hand once again. "Oh guys, this is Vee," he said as if it was an afterthought. "Vee, that's Ray and Mikey," Frank said motioning to the two guys on the bench. "And this is Gerard and Maria." Gerard nodded again but Maria looked up at me and smiled.

"Kinda hot for a turtle neck," she said.

I felt my face get hot, and I started to fidget pulling on my sleeves. I felt Frank squeeze my hand telling me to stop. I obeyed and looked at Maria. "Yeah," I answered. "But I'm from a religious family who would disown me if I exposed too much of my breasts."

Maria gave a small laugh and smothered her cigarette in the ground. Just then the bell sounded signaling the end of lunch. The boys got up slowly and headed out. Maria got up too and smiled at me. "You should come to my house after school with the guys," she said. I smiled accepting. Then she leaned in and whispered. "I'll show you some tricks for that hickey." I laughed slightly as my face grew warm, but she just smiled and walked away with Gerard.

I started to follow them but was pulled back by Franks grasp. "C'mon Frank," I said annoyed. "We'll be late."

Frank just looked at me and smiled. "From a religious family, huh?"

"I had to say something," I defended my blurting.

"Oh Vee."

I pulled my hand out of Frank's and scoffed at him. Then I walked towards the school with a smile on my face.

.......

After school all the guys piled in Maria's car to go to her house. Frank rode with me to give me directions and because he didn't have a car.

"Turn right here."

I yanked the wheel hard almost missing the turn. "Gosh Frank tell me before the turn next time."

Frank just smirked and sucked on his cigarette. "You're suppose to be calling me Frankie, remember?" He said depositing ashes out the car window.

"Just around your friends," I said. "Anytime else I can call you anything I want." I needed to keep control of the situation, because I wouldn't allow myself to fall apart in his presence again.

Frank gave a small laugh and threw the cigarette out the window. "Turn right."

I made a swift right and continued driving.

"Well I guess if you can disobey the rules in private so can I," Frank said with a smile in his voice. Suddenly, I felt his body heat closing in on me.

"Look buddy I make the rules," I said keeping my eyes averted and pushing him back with one hand.

Frank laughed fully and slid back. "You know Vee, you're a lot feistier than I expected."

I turned to glance at him quickly and looked back. "I don't know if that was a compliment or a stealthy insult, so I'll keep my mouth shut."

"That'd be a first."

"You asshole..."

"We're here!"

........

"Here try this," Maria said offering me a necklace. Maria and I were up in her room while the boys were downstairs doing God knows what. I pulled the choker on and looked in the mirror. It covered up the fading spot on my neck perfectly.

"Wow, thanks Maria," I gushed examining myself some more.

"No problem," she said. "I've had to cover up a few in my day."

"Oh, Gerard?" I questioned without thinking.

"Oh, no," Maria responded quickly putting on a pained expression.

"But I thought you guys were like together," I said slightly embarrassed at my presumption.

"Oh please, that ended a long time ago," she said ushering me into a seat in front of the mirror. She took off the choker and started to apply make-up to my neck. "Me and Gee now are more what you call friends who occasionally hook up."

"Oh," I said as I watched her fiddle away on my neck. I don't think I would ever understand a relationship that so casually intertwined sex. Sex was personal, intimate, and special. Yet again, what did I know? I was a virgin, who until this weekend only had shared a kiss with my 8 year old daycare "boyfriend".

"We tried the relationship thing," Maria continued. "but we both knew we were too alike to make it work, but this...it works," she said stepping back to admire her work. "It's like having a boyfriend without the...obligations...well you know, you have a boyfriend."

"Um, yeah," I said looking at myself in the mirror and letting her words fade. Maria could do wonders. The hickey was completely gone.

"You know when I saw you with Frankie today, I was surprised," Maria went on putting down her make-up. "You're not like his last girlfriends."

I tore myself away from the mirror and looked at Maria. This was it. She was going to catch on to my imposter idea. There is no way they would believe that a guy like Frank would go for a girl like me. I searched my brain for any explanation that could counteract her next statement.

"Not to put down your boyfriend, but he has trouble in relationships," she said surprisingly steering the conversation away from me.

I let myself settle and smiled not surprised at all at Frank's relationship troubles. If you could even call his rotating line of worshippers relationships. Already this year, I had seen him with five different girls from our class. I realized I was grinning like an idiot and wiped it away quickly.

"Why? What's wrong with Frank...ie?" I gave a pained expression as I realized I had forgotten to call him Frankie. I quickly added the ie, but it clearly sounded unnatural. I was already failing at this faux girlfriend mission.

Maria gave a quizzed look but shook it off. "Well for starters, he ended his last relationship in front of our art class."

"Why?" I asked quickly.

"He said she wouldn't get the point anywhere else."

"That seems kind of harsh," I replied running my fingers over my neck making sure the cover-up would stick.

Maria laughed and pulled me up from my seat. "Did you expect compassion from Frankie?"

I forced a laugh to blend in with her reaction. I didn't know what to say to her statements. It didn't surprise me at all that Frank was an insensitive jerk who used girls and then threw them away. Yet, my intuition felt like Maria wasn't just telling me these things for my benefit, so I did the "girlfriend" thing and simply replied, "Maybe you don't know him like I do."