Love, Lex (9 page)

“Mr. Farnworth is outside waiting for you two girls. You may
talk to him about Miss Easton’s bail. It wasn’t posted.” Annoyed, the guard
held the door open.

“I’m not leaving without Lex.” Taddy came over and put her
arm around me.

“Taddy, don’t be stupid. You have to go,” I said.

Vive walked up between us. “I’m sorry I agreed with Mr.
Shapiro and my father after our arraignment to stop helping you. What can I
say? I panicked.”

“So tell
Dick
you’ve changed your mind,” Taddy
bossed.

“Ladies. Now. Move it,” the guard shouted.

Annoyed, the girls ignored him as if he were a gnat in their
ear. Six months in juvie will do that to ya.

“Let me talk to them again. Even if I have to withdraw the
money from my trust when the banks open in the morning, I’ll get you out of
here. I promise.”

“Thank you, Vive,” I said.

“Then we both should stay here tonight with Lex,” Taddy
suggested.

“No…” Sure. I wanted them to say. I did. But that would be
wrong of me. They needed to leave.

“Actually Taddy, if we’re gonna get my dad and his lawyer to
defend Lex, I’ll need your help.”

“What can I do?”

“Well, during our quiet time I got to thinking. And we
should say we’re gonna be tried alongside Lex. Once we make it clear to Mr.
Shapiro that the three of us are in this together, my dad will do whatever’s
necessary to clear Lex’s name.”

Hearing Vive’s words made the gash in my heart stop.

“Makes sense. Taddy, get out of here,” I begged, pushing her
toward the door.

“We’ll be back before the end of the night.” While hugging
me, I inhaled her faint scent, tuberose. 

“Lex, I’ll get you out.” Vive gave me a kiss on the cheek
and said, “My offer stands for you to move in with us at the Sherry Netherland
after we get you out.”

“I love you, Vive.” My arms wrapped tightly around her
narrow waist.

Vive’s body shook a little. “I’m sorry for everything.
Please forgive me.”

“Apology accepted.”

Underneath Vive’s hard shell was a heart bigger than the
Empire State Building. Today, I’m reminded of that.

Shoulders broad, Officer Gotti stood tall near the cell. The
doors opened. My friends walked out and waved goodbye.

He stared at me as if ready to come back for round two. His
face said, “LIAR!”

I hadn’t lied to Officer Gotti. Earlier, I’d admitted my
guilt. I just hadn’t corrected Taddy and Vive as they professed my so-called
innocence moments ago. Nor had I been honest to the judge when we’d pleaded not
guilty.

Okay, Okay, Okay. Who was I kidding? Certainly not myself. I
was a lying piece of Hedda’s poo. How could I tell the truth? What if this went
to trial? What if Birdie didn’t take the blame?

We’d learned from past experience not to tell the
authorities a thing. They weren’t our friends.

I was mad at myself for admitting I’d started the fire when
they first asked. I hadn’t imagined it would end in an entire penthouse floor
being destroyed.

The doors closed.

He didn’t leave with them. He kept on watching me.

A guard walked back and forth checking the cells.

I used that time to ask myself two important questions. One,
was I nervous to talk to him by myself?
Hells yeah!
And two, could I
keep my mouth shut, not telling the truth without my besties here to talk for
me?
Maybe. Maybe not.

Suddenly, from the top of my head to my tippy toes, a tingle
started. It wasn’t from the synthetic orange fabric I wore. Oh no. This was a
sensation of hyperawareness. I’d felt self conscious before but this was
ridiculous.

His expressive face, catalog model-worthy for sure, talked
to me. His mind was racing in judgments about who I was and what I’d done. His
accusatory stares infuriated me.

For some unknown reason, I wanted his approval more than
anything. I ached for him to believe me and that today was an accident, a
misunderstanding.

Fudge, I didn’t even know him. I shouldn’t give a flip what
he thought about me. I didn’t care how the TV portrayed me or what Birdie and
her fans thought of me either. This explosion wasn’t only putting my plus-sized
bum on the line but my besties boney butts as well. I had to stick to the
story.

After the guard had gone and it was just me alone in my
cell, Officer Gotti stepped closer. 

Both of us remained silent.

The room spun as my WWF, Scorpion King, Hulk on a Harley,
inked up demi-god mirage in the desert returned.

My vision blurred. Confused? Heck yeah. Tummy tossing? I
felt oddly aroused.
I know!

At a time like this, how could I be…horny? I just blew up
Mom, and my two besties had left me. My hormones rocketed into overdrive. I
forced a smile to show he didn’t make me nervous. Heat came off my skin. Slowly
I wiped the perspiration off the back of my neck by knotting my hair into a
bun. That was a ladylike trick I’d learned at Avon Porter.

“You okay? Now that your friends are gone.”

“Woo, it’s warm in here is all.” I was scared as hell but I
wouldn’t show it.

“It sure is.” He grinned, focusing on my face. “Miss
Farnworth has a sweet dog.”

I liked how Officer Gotti understood I didn’t want to talk
about the facts of the case anymore. Mentioning Hedda was sweet. He was sweet.
Or was it some warm-up technique they’d taught him at the police academy to get
me to open up? Hmmm.

“Hedda Hopper. Everyone loves Vive’s furbaby. Is she okay?”

“She cried a bit so I fed her my lunch. She’ll be fine.”

“Good.” I couldn’t believe he’d given her dog his lunch. Oh,
he was good! But I can see right through him. Vive had said he was playing a
game with us. Well, I got your number buddy.

“I got the sense Hedda doesn’t spend much time without Miss
Farnworth.”

“Never. Today was the longest Vive’s ever been away from
Hedda. She takes great care of that dog as if she were her—” I stopped myself
from saying the word, baby.

“Her what?”

“Never mind.” I lifted my chin. I didn’t want to get into
our Avon Porter past with Officer Gotti. Judge Calabrese had already dragged it
up enough today.

“Before I go, is there anything you’d like to tell me?”

“About what?” I tried to play dumb. Like one of those Hilton
girls.

“In regards to earlier at your mom’s place?”

“No. Not really. I’ve already said too much. Plus you
stated, when you pulled me over, that this was out of your jurisdiction.”

“That is correct. I’m not on this case.”

“Probably explains why you weren’t even at our arraignment.”
I leaned forward pressing myself against the bars searching him for a reason.
Why did he take an interest?

There was a slight breeze blowing down the hall. I closed my
eyes for a second and imagined it as fresh air from outside. The air stunk.

“True, I may be called to give a statement or be a witness
for the prosecution.”

“Naturally, that makes sense.” I tried to hide my despair.
Everyone seemed to be against me.

Quickly I added up everyone that wasn’t on Team Lex. Let’s
see, my ex-boyfriend, Mom, probably Dad, Vive and Taddy—if they changed their
minds, and now the authorities.

Ironic, wasn’t it? This summer, I wanted to get screwed for
my birthday. Boy, did I.
Thanks Kelle, you stuck it to me good, you li’l
pigtard.

“It’s my job to say what I heard and saw.” He cocked his
head to look at me. 

Hmmm. Maybe Officer Gotti and I should stop talking all
together. If he’s going to testify, I can’t say anything more other than,
“Thanks again for checking in on Mom.”

“The doctors said she’ll be fine. Her burns weren’t
serious.”

“Wait…you spoke to the doctors?”

“Yup. I had to make certain Mrs. Easton was good.”

What a guilt trip this man gave me. He’d fed the dog. He’d
visited Mom and met with the medical staff taking care of her. What was next?

My realization of this cop’s selflessness made me want
to—drop to my knees and give him a blowjob. TMI?
Well it’s the truth.

Alright, the fact that he was, as Vive and Taddy had pointed
out, the hottest cop we’d ever seen didn’t hurt either.

“Officer Gotti.”

“Call me Ford.”

“Mmm…Ford,” I said huskily, as if his big fat cock—assuming
it was like the rest of him, ginormous and all muscle—had shoved itself down my
throat. “It means a lot to me that you care.” “I want the truth to prevail.”
His chest rose as he went to walk away.

“Before you go, I must say, if there’s any chance that you
might be called to be a witness for the prosecution, please know I don’t have a
motive to kill Birdie. I didn’t intend for any of this to happen.”

His chin dipped in obvious disagreement with what I’d said.
“My colleagues spoke with your boyfriend. Mr. Dolley’s statement says otherwise.”

Oh. My. God.
Gripping the bars tightly, I held myself
up. After hearing him speak, it was as if someone had pushed me off the
observation deck at Rockefeller Center.

Land on your feet girl, I told myself.

“Kelle is my ex-boyfriend. And whatever he said to the
police, I’m sure it was a lie because he, like Birdie, wasn’t in his right
frame of mind.”

“They did drugs together?” Sincerity in his eyes, that I
hadn’t notice before, made me all the more confused about who I could trust.

“Officer Gotti—”

“Ford,”
he voiced in a warm tone.

“Please. Stop. You’re interrogating me.”

“No. I’m not. I’m trying to help you. But you won’t let me.”
The veins in his neck popped. Ford seemed uncomfortable with my position. “Why
won’t you trust me?”

“I don’t know you.”

“Miss Easton, I’m the law. Nothing more. Nothing less.” He
stood up a bit on his toes, making him one of the tallest men I’d ever seen.

“When it comes to your
laws
, I have Taddy and Vive to
consider, not just myself.” I shook my head realizing I indeed had a motive to
kill Mom. “I must appear to you and the department like some fat celebrity’s
daughter out for revenge to destroy my pretty and talented mother for—”

“Don’t say that. Don’t talk about yourself in such a way.”
He looked at me. And I don’t mean he stared at the green eye shadow I wore or
the vampy color I’d lined my lips. No. Ford took in all of me. From my pointy
nipples to my curvy hips, then he grinned, winked, and complimented, “You’re
not
fat.”

“Oh no?” Forget the earlier tingle, my body was on flippin’
tamale fire as if I’d eaten a big ass bag of cinnamon red hots.

“Nope. You’re beautiful.”

Never mind
holy Hannah
as a reply in my head. Ford’s
words called for herald angels to sound off their trumpets between my ears.
Ohhh. Fuckity fuck.

“Ford, I thought you said this was out of your
jurisdiction.”

“It is.”

“Then why are you getting involved?”

“As I stated earlier, I’m new to the force. Sympathy for
criminals isn’t supposed to happen and it hasn’t—”

“I am no criminal!” I corrected him.

“—But feeling empathy for a seventeen-year-old girl, whose
mother robs her of a future while her boyfriend becomes a witness for the
prosecution in exchange for having his DUI charges dropped after he’s broken
her heart? That I do have.”  Ford summed up my nightmare in one quick breath.

Hot, wet tears flowed down my cheeks. Unable to speak, not
wiping my face, I let my pain show. Not once had I cried since we’d been thrown
in here. I nearly puked a few times, sure. But I left crying up to Vive.

I didn’t know what to say other than thank you. So I
muttered it as best as I could.

“You’re welcome.” At his sides, his big hands fisted as if
frustrated, and then he said quietly, in a masculine steady voice, “Good night,
Lex.”

The only thing holding me back from running into his arms
and hugging him? Ahem, the same thing which had prevented me from devouring a
fuck-it bucket earlier, these jail bars.

Standing in the cell, I studied the v-taper of backside as
he walked away, hoping he’d return and talk to me some more.

He didn’t.

No friends. No Ford.  Vive never brought the money. Taddy
didn’t return. Where in the heck was Blake?

Riker’s reported there wasn’t any room for me at the other
jail tonight, and my transfer to another prison cell would be sometime tomorrow
morning.

For a second I imagined I was up in the air, jetting to
Paris. Our flight would’ve taken off by now if we’d gone.

Alone in itchy orange, I sat on the cement floor. The air
conditioning shut off.

I waited for someone to bail me out.

No one did.

Man Candy

“In the ninth I met
the girls
. The first to introduce
herself to me in algebra class had been Vive Farnworth—her Swedish features
were striking. Next was Taddy Brill. Near my locker, at almost six-feet tall,
her long legs stopped hallway traffic. However, the real beauty was Lex Easton,
and we’d met in gym class. Socially Lex was feisty and challenging. Her
expressive eyes and sharp tongue kept my interest. Never seeing gay or
straight, black or white, rich or poor, Lex took classmates for who they were,
her peers. Students had taunted Lex, calling her Lady Big Boned. In time, the
name calling had escalated to PFB:
pretty face but
. By our senior year
their torment had left permanent scars. Now after graduation, I hope her
self-esteem will recover. I tell Lex every chance I get that curvy girls are
sexy. My best friend Lex Easton is fucking sexy. I see it. And I pray one day
soon she’ll see it too.” —Blake Morgan, undecided college major, optimistic
husband hunter