Little Baby Pines

Hyperventilation and freaking out devoured Jonathan Toews in the passenger seat. His hands flapped in the air with limp wrists. “The fuck. The fuck. THE FUCKING FUCK?!” It took Kim a bottle of water and a speech to calm him down. In the end he became exhausted, drooping in his seat like melting wax. His hands clasped over his thunderous heart. “I don’t want to be alone. Can I—” His eyelids slammed shut. Kim watched him twitch and quiver. “This sounds presumptuous but may I go home with you?” He covered his face with his large hands. “I won’t jump your bones if you are afraid of that.” The last few words were mumbled into small sounds that made him blush. “I just… This is freaking me out. I can’t be left alone like this.”

“Sure, Jon.” Her hand patted his knee. “I am going to give you a quick warning, though.” He peeked at her through the slits of his fingers. “I live in a house with a bunch of girls. Sorority girls. So, while you are at it, try and not jump their bones, too. They are a bunch of crazy bitches.” Her hand slid off his leg. Just to joke around, she added, “but if you continue to be this cool and endearing I will let you jump my bones.”

The car ride became quiet as she drove down the lazy roads. A few cars accompanied her lonely yellow station wagon on the road home, but then dispersed down side roads. Kim pushed a few buttons on the radio. The 5-disc CD player made noises and a mix CD came on. With fast reflexes she skipped the first three songs to a Grandmaster Flash song. The mix CD was made by Sully. The first three songs were his own raps for Kim. She didn’t want Jon to hear them. It wasn’t like he would know those raps were about her anyway. It was just that she knew they were about her and her face would have turned a bright red.

Her rickety car pulled up in front of a well kept yard and two-story home. Jon marveled at the girly cars parked along the curb and in the driveway. The house was a light pink color with a darker pink trim. The Greek letters Theta Phi and Pi hung on the front side of the house to the left of the awning over the front deck. It was the dead of night so none of the lights were on inside the house, not even the porch light.

The trunk was popped open and the two carry in her equipment. Kim didn’t bother taking it up stairs. Instead, they stashed the equipment in the living room underneath the coffee table with chick magazines on it. Kim was lying on her stomach on the ground shoving the milk crate deep underneath the mahogany table. When she slid out she stared at Jon. His eyes were shut, his face screwed up, and his hands rubbing his face and hair. “Oh mon dieu. You look like a fucking drug addict.”

The boy quickly opened his eyes, staring at her with a stricken look. “What?!” He hoarsely whispered at her. “It feels good. Fuck. What do I do? I want to sleep this off. It is freaking me out, Kim.”

Her hand took his. He was dragged into the kitchen. A drawer was slide open and the lights were flicked on. She took out a packet of gum and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. There was no way she was giving him more drugs. “Some gum to stop your jaw from looking so freaky jumpy, take it. Drink water. Now sit on the counter and wait for me.” The girl then ran out the way they entered. He could hear her feet patter on the staircase as she tried to softly run up them. When she returned there was something behind her back. The object was tossed at Jon. He was holding a stuffed animal. It was a soft and cuddly penguin. “Penguins are cute and nice to hug.”

“Like the Pittsburgh Penguins? Crosby gives good hugs.” He looked down at the plushie. He began to pet it. The feel of it on the pads of his fingers made him smile.

Kim’s lower jaw was hanging in the air. Her mind was filled with surprisingly PG thoughts of Tazer and Crosby cuddling together. “Its name is actually Flower,” she muttered under her breath but he couldn’t hear her. She inched closer to Jon and then hopped onto the counter sitting next to him. “You must know that this is kind of freaking me out. I mean, I have hung out with Burish and Kaner before but only because I am a DJ. This. Having a hockey player, the captain of the Blackhawks, in the kitchen of the sorority house I live in is kinda freaky.” She kicked her feet back and forth. “I know you are a normal human being but still. This is a little crazy. Surreal.”

“I am sorry. If it makes you feel better sometimes I kind of wish I was normal. You know, not a hockey player that won the Stanley Cup and an Olympic Gold medal. It is kind of a lot of pressure and scrutiny.” The penguin was rubbed against his face. Jon looked at Kim’s face and then quickly darted his eyes to the fridge and then the ground. “Kim.” Her face turned to him. The gum he was chewing on accidentally slipped down his esophagus and landed into his digestive system. He scooted closer to her and rested his head on her shoulder. “I don’t blame you for this, for me being high or whatever. You didn’t know.” Her face glowed red. “And… Thanks for being nice to me even though I was a dick. I appreciate that.” One hand abandoned the stuff animal and slid onto her knee. He felt the texture of her lace tights, picking at them. “I am kind of always like that. My mom said I do it to push people away because of something about leaving my family when I was young and my Dad.”

“My mom says I am overly friendly because I have a fear of being neglected because of my daddy issues. Daddy issues for the win.” Their hands clasped together.

A tiny kiss was placed on her exposed neck. The kiss turned into a lick that turned into a nibble that turned into sucking. Kim cautiously looked around. She couldn’t say this hasn’t happened before. Her first year of college, possibly the first week, she smoked weed with a stranger and then made out with him in his car. A nasty bruise was bound to show up the next day given Kim’s ability to bruise very easily. At the moment she had three hematomas. One the size of a dime on her forearm and two on her left shin, one near her kneecap and the other spreading from mid-calf to the ankle.

A tiny scream was let out when his teeth sank into her flesh, biting her. She squeezed his hand. “Jon. I am going to end up waking up all the girls in the house if you keep that up.” Her breathing was altered, hitching slightly. A sly smile was on his face. He gave her nape one last peck and then pulled away. His fingers picked at the penguin.

“I am sorry. I should probably stay away from you. I am growing ever so tired. Can I pass out somewhere”

“Of course you can. You can have my bed if you want. It is on the second floor.”

He vehemently shook his head. “No. I cannot go upstairs at the moment. I will probably fall down.”

First Kim jumped off the counter then Jon did. Her arms were held out for him when he wobbled around, gently nudging her arms. The lights were shut off. Jon grabbed Kim’s hand for guidance in the darkness. They crept back into the living room. A pillow and a quilt were pulled from the closest closet. He nestled on the couch with his new best friend Flower. Flower was pressed against his grinning face. Kim looked down at his joy, throwing the quilt over his body, which was in the fetal position. He shoved the pillow underneath his head. “Hey Kim.”

She was turning to leave. Her body slowly spun back around. He caught one of her hands and pulled her onto him. She clumsily fell on him, looking down at him with a shocked look. The space between them evaporated when he pulled her again, closer. Their lips met in the darkness. His trembling hands settled on her hips, running slightly up and down. The amount of self control he had was impressive. The ecstasy was starting to wear off. It did, however, make him want to touch her in embarrassing ways, but that wasn’t like him. Even this wasn’t like him. He was an awkwardly shy guy towards girl. Being this forward was something he only practiced in his mind and never in actual life. Kim on the other hand was used to this. She could tell that he wasn’t and that made her smile that he actually tried something like this on her. Her lips kissed his for a while. One of her legs hooked over his waist so that she was straddling him. Her hands pushed him into the couch. The girl was taking control.

“This seems really unfair. I feel like I am taking advantage of you since you are hopped up on E.”

“No. You really aren’t.” His kisses trailed down her jaw to the other side of neck for matching hickies. His teeth nipped at the fabric of her dress.

Kim looked down at him. “Hey, yeah. Can we stop? I know you said I am not, but I really feel like that frat guy that took you to a party to get you shitfaced and get you into this sexy state of mind. That is not my MO.”

“Okay. I understand,” even though I am the one that instigated all of this. He couldn’t get the words out. He pulled away from her to stop himself from picking at her fabric or kissing her. “What is your MO?”

Her body rose and sauntered to the couch across from the one he was on. “Baking desserts and making you so fat that you will have to love me because no one else will. Baked goods, poems, and bottles of wine. I seduce people like I am a dandy from the 1700s.”

His chuckle was warm and deep. It made Kim smile like a giddy girl. “Well, if you fall for me please seduce me like that. I would absolutely love being adorned with sweets and gifts.”

“You are a girl!”

“You are a boy!” The feel of his hand rubbing against his face felt foreign. It was prickly and slightly electrifying. His fingertips felt like they had electrodes shooting from them. “Kimburrleeee, I am going to pass out and dream about you in the Victorian period.”

She wrapped herself in a blanket that was draped over the back of the couch. “I am going to be a hot guy in your dream, so don’t get frightened if you have a gay crush on me.”

“Oh shut up. Who are you?”

“I am the boy of your fantasies, Jon.”