Chapter 16
“I’m a lady, in my own way.”
Now that he had beaten Billy Logan into submission, Lucas Matthews believed the spoils belonged to him. “Can I carry your books home for you, Johnnie?” Lucas asked, feeling like he could do no wrong.
“Yes,” she said with a smile.
By the time they got to Johnnie’s house, Lucas’ jaw was swollen from the one punch he’d received from Billy Logan. Johnnie invited him in so she could put an ice pack on his jaw. It was the least she could do since he defended her in front of a crowd of kids who were hurling insults at her. The house was quiet when they entered. Johnnie knew Marguerite would be at Shirley’s as usual. Lucas was almost glad he’d caught a punch. He hadn’t hoped to get this far this fast. He was in her house and felt like he was on top of the world.
“Have a seat,” Johnnie said. “I’ll get you some ice for your jaw.”
Lucas sat down. He looked around the house, admiring the way it was arranged. There were family pictures on the wall across the room from where he sat. He got up and walked over to the wall to get a better look at the pictures of Johnnie when she was a baby. She was even cute then. She still had those alluring eyes and those dimples that made his heart melt. He could hear Johnnie coming back into the living room.
“Here,” she said. “Let me put this on your jaw.” When the ice, wrapped in a towel, touched his jaw. Johnnie could feel his body shake. “How does that feel, Lucas?”
“Cold.”
“Hold the ice on it and the swelling should go down.”
“Okay,” he said. His hand touched hers when he put his hand to his jaw. He felt the warmth of her hand. They looked into each other’s eyes for a moment.
When Johnnie removed her hand, she felt herself becoming aroused by the momentary touch and the wanton looks. She wanted him inside of her, but she didn’t want him to think she was the whore everyone made her out to be. I’m a lady, in my own way.
“So, who are these people in these pictures, Johnnie?” Lucas asked. He wanted to kiss her while they were staring at each other, but thought better of it. To Lucas, pretty girls were good girls, and good girls didn’t give it up the first time they had you over. Nevertheless, his erection was harder than a brick. He was hoping she couldn’t see it.
“Oh, these are pictures of me, my mother, and my brother.”
“I can tell which one of these baby pictures is you, Johnnie.”
“You can? How?” Johnnie smiled.
“Your eyes and your dimples are still the same.”
“You really think so?”
“Yes, I do. You’re the prettiest girl in school and the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. Everybody says it, even the girls. That’s why they don’t like you. ’Cause they know you better lookin’ than they is. That’s why they call you a whore. But you ain’t no whore. Not to me.”
Johnnie turned away from him. She was a whore—at least she felt like one. The proof of her whoredom would be walking through the front door in a few hours, expecting her to put out for him. It didn’t matter that she was forced into this kind of life. Besides, she liked sex now. She learned to please herself by touching her privates when she was in bed. At first, she was embarrassed when she masturbated to orgasm, but now she thought of Lucas Matthews when she did it. And now he was in her house and they were talking about her whoring. In those seconds that she’d turned from him, she toyed with the idea of telling all but dismissed it. It was too soon. He thought too much of her.
“Johnnie, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Lucas. You just been so kind to me. I feel like I don’t deserve it,” Johnnie said, looking into his eyes.
At that moment, Lucas wanted to ask her if she would be his girl. He didn’t know if she was being nice or if she really liked him. All he knew was that he really liked her and he wanted her to be his. He decided he would take the chance.
“Johnnie,” he said, nervously. “Will you—”
The front door opened and Marguerite entered the living room. “What the hell is goin’ on up in here?”