Little Baby Pines

Stares followed Jon as he followed behind Patrick and Adam. The three men arrived at an abandoned barn that was turned into a makeshift party. In a corner was a platform with tables of DJing equipment and speakers. Jon did not want to be there the second he got out of the car. He wasn’t the type to socialize. Being 22 and acting like a 70 year old man was conflicting. Jon would have preferred spending his day off watching a hockey game on his giant flat screen or beating twelve year olds at Mario Kart on Xbox live. Jon could just feel himself turning more awkward with each step he took.

People stopped the trio to hug and say hi to Adam and Patrick. These people knew them and not just because they play in the NHL, but because these two guys frequented this group’s parties. It was because Adam’s old floor mate in his last apartment complex was one of the DJs.

Adam ran a hand through his fluffy brown hair. “Hey, where is the Asian princess? I hope her cute friend is with her.”

“The one with the fucked up nose?” Patrick a mouthed a ‘no-thank-you’ and kept dodging people. His body bobbed with music. A few girls stopped him on his way to the platform stage with the DJ equipment. He gave them a wink and kept on moving. None of those girls were hot enough or slutty enough to stop him from his mission. At that time in the evening he wasn’t drunk enough to tie himself to one girl for the rest of the night. Not just yet.

Off to the side of the dancing DJ were two girls. They were both sitting on the couch angled in the direction of the DJ platform. The two were dressed up for the occasion. The leggy blonde was in a shiny bright red dress that stopped at mid thigh with black high heels on her dainty feet. She was looking around like a pathetic dog in search of its master. In one hand was a red plastic cup. Draped on her side was a tiny girl with short jet black hair. She was in a pale baby blue dress with a Peter Pan collar. White Mary Jane shoes were buckled onto her feet matching the white lace tights she wore. The two women were best friends but had competing dress sense. Smoldering temptress versus childishly adorable. The girl’s face was buried into the blonde’s arm. Both of her arms encircled the blonde’s waist.

Adam approached the girls first with a loud comment. “When did you two start dating? Because when you two want to get married, I will be the first one to punch a congressman in the face just so that it can happen.”

Even Patrick chirped on the scene in front of him. “I approve. Now we can finally have a sexy three-way, Park.”

The blonde, Mindy, buried her face into her hands then chugged the rest of the frothy beer in her cup. Her face was already turning a bright pink color. The smaller girl with black hair, Kimberly, flipped off the guys. She rose from the couch and shoved the two men with a forceful push. “Don’t be disrespectful, okay? I expect it from you, Burish, but Patty? The fuck?!” A playful grin was on her face. “Burish, when did you even come back to town?”

“Like this morning. I am leaving tomorrow. Just came to visit old friends.” He instinctively winks at her.

Her nose scrunched up as she made pouty face. “Patty,” her attention switched, “you bastard.” Two tiny hands are pressed against his chest. He grabs her tight by the shoulders and pulls her into an embrace. Her hands wriggled from between their bodies onto his backside, sliding into the back pockets of his jeans. Something was secretly slipped in while money was slide out in exchange. A kiss is placed on his jaw line. “Monsieur, would you like refreshments? There are two kegs and a table of hard liquor on the other side of the barn.”

Kim’s friend shyly pops off the couch and hides behind Kim as the small girl took control. She confidently weaved through the people and ended up at the table. The group got their drinks. Patrick filled three plastic cups at the keg and tried handing two to the girls. Kim eyed them suspiciously. “Seriously, Pat? Like I am going to trust you with a drink. Last time you gave me a drink it was spiked with MDMA just for shits and giggles.”

“And you didn’t drink it! But these are straight. I swear.” The plastic cup brushed against her hand but she refused to take it. Instead Jon took the drink. Her mouth opened in protest but he quickly put it to his lips and drained it within seconds. The girl watched him in amazement. “That is my boy!”

After it was emptied, the cup was thrown into a nearby metal barrel. Jon looked at it with a dazed gaze, letting his eyes drift to Pat and Kim. “What? I was thirsty? And that is probably the only drink I am going to have tonight. I think you dropped a penny in it or something.” The other spiked drink is handed to Adam. Mid transfer Jon swiped the drink and chugged it. “Okay. I lied. That one is my last. But where the fuck are those pennies coming from?” He shook his head, making a disgusted face. “I am sorry. I just don’t feel comfortable here.” He grabbed a bottle of tequila and poured a good amount into his cup before steering himself to the nearest seat. He sank into a worn out couch that Mindy was already sitting on.

Kim slowly turned to Pat. “You lied. Those were spiked. That penny… It wasn’t a penny. It was…”

“Yeah…”

“My pills.” He nodded sheepishly. “How many?” Two fingers were wiggled in the air. “I will never be able to trust you, Patty.” Kim looked back to Jon. At the moment he looked completely fine, if not slightly unhappy. In half an hour he has going to be freaking out on ecstasy.

When Kim twirled back around to chew Pat out he was already gone. The rat was squirming his way into the maze of people with Burish close to his side. “Fuck you,” Kim muttered to the air. She then turned around to accompany her friend and the stranger boy on E only to find her friend completing the same magic trick Pat did. The girl stamped the ground a few times knowing that she was going to have to babysit the boy because she didn’t want him to be alone in the venture of drugs.

A hand firmly gripped her shoulders. She jumped. “Calm down, Kim. It is only me. Sully.” The weight of her body pressed against his body as she leaned back onto him. “You don’t seem to be well. What is with the little tantrum?”

Her eyes shut close. Her hand slipped over his. Little circles were drawn onto the top of his velvety dark skin. “It was nothing. I am better now. Thanks Sully.” Swiftly, she spun around and stood on her tip toes. A kiss was placed a centimeter away from the corner of his mouth. He kept the insanely contagious joy to himself as she solemnly sojourned to the grumpy man on the couch. He scratched his curly afro hair. Scott Sullivan was Kim’s best guy friend and cared about her more than he ever let on. It wasn’t like him to show people how much he cared or yearned for them. Instead of asking her what ailed her, holding her in his arms until she could smile on her own, he let her slip away. It was a knack of his. It made for good raps later when he was high.

“Hey!” Kim scooted next to Jon. A hand was shot out. “We weren’t properly introduced. My name is Kimberly. What is yours?”

He gave her a snort and an eye roll as if to say, ‘you-don’t-know-my-name-yeah-right’. But she was persistent. That smile did not waver and that hand did not tremble. He took her small hand into his, firmly shaking it. “Jon. Jonathan Toews. You can call me whatever you want, just not Toes, Toe-ez, Jonny Boy—”

“Can I call you Jon?”

“Yeah, that is fine.”

A sweet smile was on her face. It almost made Jon smile but he was too puzzled as to why this girl was sticking around when everyone else deserted them. So much for going to a party with friends to not feel alone. The first thing they did was ditch him. He regretted not driving himself to this stupid party. How did Pat think this was going to unwind him? It was doing the exact opposite.

Kim placed her hand over his. “Hey. I have to DJ in like twenty minutes or less. I have no clue. Want to go with me to my car to get some of my equipment?”

“I guess. Not like I have anything better to do.” Begrudgingly, he walked her to her car. He kicked at the dirt as he trailed behind her. “So was that guy your boyfriend?”

She threw a look behind her. The tone in his voice made her become increasingly defensive. His words sounded biting and insincere. “No. He is just my best friend.”

“Yeah, okay. Not sure he knows that,” he mumbled under his breath. “What about you and Kaner?” He said it in a louder voice so that she could understand him. “You two looked awfully close when we approached you.” The words ‘you totally grabbed his ass’ mulled around in his mind.

Dirt clung to her legs when she abruptly stopped walking. A pout formed on her lips and her eyebrows were dipping in the middle. She bit her lip and eased up her facial expression into a slightly less disappointing look. “I am sorry, but no. There is nothing between me and Kaner or me and anyone. I do apologize, but why are you persistent in finding out if I am with anyone?” His invasive words and flat tone made his mouth cinch up and put a blockade in between them. He just shook his head and looked at his feet to avoid answering, to avoid making her want to hit him. “Okay,” she smiled and continued to her car. She popped open the trunk.

A few cable cords and a board with switches on it were pulled from the back seat of a yellow station wagon. He laughed at her car. “A station wagon? What? Are you from California or just a lost hipster chick?” She didn’t reply, only continued unloading her belongings. He took a few steps backwards in the dirt to check out her license plate. A sigh escaped him. “Well, don’t I look like an asshole.”

The tiny girl scuttled past him juggling a Mac Pro, a switch board, and the cables. “Yeah, you do,” she huffed. She shot a look at Jon. “Dude, I am trying to be nice to you. You are being nothing but sassy. Why are you being an ass?”

Words were stuck in his head, never being translated into audible sounds. The heavy switchboard was yanked from her hands. He then relinquished the cords from her hands as well and obediently followed her to the back entrance of the barn. His hand reached out to touch her shoulder, but he stopped himself. What he wanted to do was stop her and apologize for being rude. He didn’t know her so where did he get off on being a dick to her? There was something wrong with Jon were he treated everyone like they were friends and they already knew each other for an extended period of time. Being a dick was his safety mechanism and a ruse. If Kim knew him then she would know that none of his words were honest and he was just talking out of his ass. But she didn’t so all she saw was rudeness and he didn’t know how to explain that to her.

The DJ on stage, Neon Vomit, had his eyes shut and was pelvic thrusting to the pulsating beat of a David Guetta song. Kim slipped behind the pink mohawked man. “NEON!” She shouted over the music. He could hardly hear her. His lazy eyes tilted in her direction. It had been over an hour since he took some of the pills he bought off her. “I AM GOING TO SET UP MY SHIT. I AM GOING TO NEED MY HEADPHONES BACK, SUCKA!” He nodded, sliding a switch up that caused the bass to have a lower frequency.

In the background of the popping DJ she weaved around setting up her laptop and extra equipment. Jon watched her body maneuver effortlessly around the chaos of chords and wires. The song ‘Memories’ ended and her music started seamlessly. Neon ended his run early to let Kim go on; he was spent. He slipped the headphones over her head. The low pulse of Adele’s voice broke through the speakers. ‘Rolling in the Deep’ was Kim’s go to song to pump a crowd as of late. It was remixed, her own remix. The song dropped with a wicked bass beat. She jumped into the air when the bass hit.

Jon stood behind her, leaning against a support structure of the barn. It amazed him what she did with the songs. How wildly her fingers flipped at the switchboard. Each song was her own remix. She spanned from popular songs on the radio like Lykke Li and Adele to older songs from the likes of Tracy Chapman and Neil Diamond. Towards the end of Kim’s long set Jon began to feel uneasy. His eyes hungrily watched her swaying hips. For some reason, he wanted to touch her. He wanted to put his hands on her stomach and press his body into the back of hers. He wanted to kiss the nape of her neck and lick her earlobe. The notions made his stomach knot up. These thoughts could not have manifested on their own. What caused these thoughts to sprout like water from a broken pipe?

The throbbing crowd in front of the DJ stand was throwing their hands in the air to the beat of the music. Kim slid two switches higher and bobbed her head to the sound. She was trying to not throw up a fist in the air. Fist pumping was a big no-no in her book of DJing. If Sully saw her doing it she would never hear the end of it. To stop that hand from popping in the air she threw her hand back in Jon’s direction. Her fingers danced, enticing him. Without letting the thought properly process in his head he took her hand. Her skin was soft. She tugged him closer to her, pulling him into her side. He let go of her hand and slid it across her back, feeling the fabric of her dress and how tiny her waist was. The girl gave him a side glance as his fingers stroked her side. A small frown tugged at her lips. The E was kicking and she still had time on stage. Her free hand glided up his back, his eyes slammed shut at the feeling, and she rested her hand on his shoulder.

The next person to go on stage approached Kim’s free side. He gingerly picked up the headphones and spoke directly into her ear. “Hey babe, you ready to close up shop?” She nodded Sweat was dripping her back. She was grossed out at the thought of Jon and Sully being so close to her foul smelling body. Sully looked over at the dazed Jon with a biting look. “Is that guy bothering you?”

“What? No.” She flipped the song to the Jurassic Park theme song technofied. It was her signature. She created the song in two weeks time recreating each beat on her Mac Pro. It was one of the reason her DJ name was JurAssKick Park, that and she loves the movie and her last name is Parker. “This guy is kind of a sweetheart,” now that he is doped up and not talking, “and is fine. Don’t worry. Just spit out your rhymes like the brilliant man you are.” She patted his cheek while concentrating on the board lighting in front of her. The bass switch slid lower and pulsated the audience. Towards the end she pushed in a button and slid three switches down while slowly dragging one up. The music was in a rage and made the fibers in her hair twitch. Soon the song trailed off into the silence. Clapping broke the dull silence. Kim didn’t take the time to soak it up as she quickly unplugged her expensive equipment, loading it onto Jon’s arms. “Carry these for me?” She instructed. He obeyed because he didn’t know what else to do. He didn’t want to carry the equipment; he just really wanted to run his hand through her hair. These feelings were freaking him out. Jon is typically a well restrained man that kept to himself. Two beers and some tequila didn’t usually make him feel like a horny bastard. Maybe horny wasn’t the right word. Touchy. Touchy feely bastard.

There was a cold exchange between Sully and Jon as they passed each other. Jon couldn’t tell what was going on. All he knew was that Sully looked like he was going to kick in Jon’s teeth. The thought was shaken off of Jon’s mind as he stumbled to Kim’s station wagon. The equipment was loaded into a milk crate in the back. She meticulously organized the cables just so and the switchboard so that nothing was bent in a weird way. A turquoise blanket was thrown on top to disguise the technology from thieving eyes. The Macbook Pro was slid underneath the back seats. “So,” her back arches against the car. “You look spent. Shall I take you home?” Her ears perked when she heard Sully’s voice over the PA system.

“How long have I been here?”

The iPhone in her dress pocket was pulled out and lit up her face. “It is 1:24 AM. So like two hours? I have no clue. When did you get here?” His brown eyes rolled and he sighed. “Dude. The sass.” She lightly shoved him. “Are you always serious and sassy?”

His hands swallowed hers. “Serious, sassy, and seducing. That is me. I hear rapping. Let’s go back in, listen to it, and then blow this popsicle stand.” There were no words of protest because she wasn’t allowed the chance to. Her body was dragged back to the barn. On her way back in she passed a depressed looking Mindy. She called out to her but it was useless. The only way Mindy could have heard her is if her mouth was pressed hard against her ear.

The two stayed for Sully’s entire set. They danced to the songs even though Jonathan didn’t know how to dance to rap. He kept touching Kim’s hips but quickly retracted his hands shyly from her body for fear of coming on to strong. He didn’t know this girl at all. He couldn’t account for why he wanted to caress her skin. It perplexed him into pulling away from her, constantly.

“Okay, this is my last rap. It goes out to my girl JurAssKick Park. It is called J’Adore, But I Don’t Speak French.” A guitar riff started and was layered with a techno beat.

Weight pressed onto her tiny frame. Jon’s head rested on top of hers. “I just want to hold you. Is that weird? Fuck. I am being a creep. I am sorry.” The weight is lifted as he pulled away, but she held him close to her.
“It is okay. Stop talking about how creepy you are and you won’t be, okay?” She pulled his face down to hers and kissed his cheek. Kim was a friendly girl that kissed many people on the cheek. The kiss lingered on his cheek long after she pulled away. The song hit the chorus and Kim’s face turned red. The rap was about her. It never failed to turn her face pink with embarrassment. “Let’s leave!” Her fingers intertwined with his. Instead of dragging him, he walked right beside her.

Jon jumped into the passenger seat. Kim danced around the front of the car to the driver’s side. A smile was on Jon’s face when she entered the car. “Hey Kim, sorry for being an ass early and for being kind of dick by touching you inappropriately when I don’t even know you that well. I am sorry. Just something came over me. I don’t know…”

She patted his knee. “Seriously. Don’t apologize for the latter. It isn’t your fault you were—” She cut herself short. Was she going to tell him that he was drugged with her pills? Kim is typically a very open person that didn’t keep secrets but she felt like she was never going to see Jon again, so she didn’t mind not telling him. “I think there was something in your drink. I think all the drinks there were spiked with tablet of ecstasy or something.”

“Wait. Did you say ecstasy?”