The Junkyard Boys (7 page)

“Well, that’s nice of her to remember something that happened when The Backstreet Boys were still together. I guess when you aspire to be shift manager at Hooters, it leaves plenty of time for reminiscing about the good old days.”

“Oh, come on, Clove. Don’t get all bent out of shape. I only meant that since you’ve been going through a dry spell, you certainly picked the right guy to bring you out of your little funk.”

“What funk are you talking about? I haven’t been in a funk. I simply chose to not date for a while, unlike you two, who have a full dance card.”

I didn’t know why I was bothering to explain anything to these two. They were staring at me like I just hurt their feelings or something. My mother wasn’t much better with her disapproving scowl, like I was the one who constantly teased and humiliated them on a daily basis. “Look, it’s not like that between Range and I. We just started spending time together, and I’m not sure how to categorize our relationship yet. I’m just gonna play it by ear and see where it leads. Now, you can all find something else to come up with to tease me about.”

There, I’d finally said it out loud. I was sick of being the punch line around here and it was time they all knew it. Strangely, I didn’t feel the satisfaction I thought I would. To my surprise, Shelly and Ashley truly looked like they had no idea what I was talking about. They were just shaking their heads and patting each other on the back in comfort. “Don’t tell me you have no idea what I’m talking about. You guys never include me in anything and insist on calling me a stupid nickname even when I tell you not to, like I’m one big joke.”

Shelly was the first to respond. “I’m sorry, Clove. We only call you M&M ‘cause we think it’s cute, not to be cruel. If we had known how much it offended you, we would have stopped long ago. We promise never to use it again, ok?” Ashley was shaking her head in agreement, and I immediately felt like shit. How was I supposed to know the real reason why they called me that stupid name? I just thought they bought into the rumors I was adopted and wanted to make sure I stayed an outsider. I felt so stupid to have resented them this long, and if I was being honest with myself, I pulled away from them first. They always used to invite me to hang out, but I always said no. Until they stopped asking and I started feeling isolated and alone. How could I have gotten this so wrong?

“Don’t worry about it, guys. I’m just nervous about going out with Range for the first time, that’s all. And thanks for not calling me M&M anymore, regardless of how cute you think it is.” They both stood up from their chairs and advanced toward me with their arms spread open. Oh God, not the group hug in the kitchen shit.

“We love you, Clove, and we are both happy you are going out on a date today. Ooh, I have a great idea. I’ll do your hair and makeup, and Ashley will pick out your outfit. This is going to be so much fun, I can just fell it. We’re gonna knock him on his cute little ass by the time we’re done.” And with that little statement, we all got rag slaps as we ran screeching from the kitchen to get ready.

Two hours later, my room had the look of an F4 tornado path. None of my clothes were left hanging in the closet; instead, they were all lying across the bed, draped over the sink in my bathroom, and swinging from the mirror on my chest of drawers. It was a mess I would have to deal with later since there was no time today, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. My sisters and I talked about anything and everything, and it was then that I realized I had missed them greatly. Our silly rift that caused us all to pull away from each other had done nothing but waste a lot of time; time we could have been spending together like we were doing today. When it was all said and done, one thing remained true, and that was the love we all had for each other. That love was evident when I looked at the final product in the mirror and hardly recognized myself. True to their word, my sisters made me look like a super model, and I was looking forward to knocking Range on his cute little ass.

Range

I had the worst night’s sleep of my life last night. After my kiss with Clover, I didn’t think my dick would ever go soft. The way she felt in my arms as I took her mouth in that mind-numbing kiss, I thought my head was about to explode. I had to jerk off twice before I could even think about getting some rest. Maxwell fucking whomever right next door certainly didn’t help the situation. Those two or three, or however many there were, were so loud I thought they were in the room with me. I had to remember to talk to him about bringing some of his “friends” into the house. I was all for having a good time, but Max was reckless. I would hate to wake up one morning and have my cock in some stranger’s mouth without me knowing it. That’s just the type of shit that would happen with him.

Before I got too put out over Max and his escapades, I remembered today was the day when Clover finally agreed to a date with me. That brought an immediate smile to my face, just thinking about showing her around the junkyard and telling her all of the interesting things that went on around here. The junkyard was closed on Saturdays, so at least I wouldn’t have to deal with any deliveries or customer bullshit. I’d have Clover all to myself and could hardly wait to have her back in my arms again. Just the thought of her had my dick bulging in my boxers yet again, which seemed to be an all too common occurrence when I thought of her.

I could remember one of the few times Buck spoke about his family with me. He hardly ever mentioned them, considering his wife left him shortly after the death of their son. She had blamed him for the whole ordeal. But every once in a while, he would get a far-off look in his eyes and would start talking about something in particular. Drama had snitched one day that I was fucking girls in high school for revenge and Buck wanted to let me in on a secret.

“Boy, you better make sure you wrap that little dick of yours up tight. We don’t need no extra mouths to feed around here. When you finally get done fucking around with those bitches and start looking for the one to settle down with, I hope your dumb ass is smart enough to snatch her up when you find her. You’ll know she’s the one when your balls feel like you got broken glass in them every time you think about her. When you are ready to kill or be killed for that bitch, trust me, she’s the one. Don’t be a fucking fool and let her get away like I did. I regret few things in this life, boy, very few things, but I can tell you now, I’ll always regret that one.”

Of course, I was an asshole about the whole thing and told him I had it under control. He never tried to force any of us not to follow our own paths in life, but on occasion, he would try to impart some of his old-school wisdom as only Buck could. I could see now the point he was trying to make about the broken glass in your balls. I ached to have Clover in my bed and prayed I was smart enough to keep her there.

***

I made my way over to Clover’s house in record time. I didn’t want to keep her waiting. I jumped out of my truck and made my way to the front porch, ready to ring the doorbell, when the front door was wrenched open and there stood a pretty girl I assumed was one of Clover’s sisters. Clover had explained to me during one of our many walks that she didn’t look anything like her two sisters, but I thought she was completely wrong. I could very much see Clover in this girl standing before me.

“Hey, is Clover home?” She gave me an appreciative look before answering.

“And who might you be, handsome?” I’m sure she knew exactly who I was, judging by the smirk on her face, but I decided to play along.

“I’m Range, and you are?”

“I’m Shelly, Clover’s sister. Come on inside. She’s all ready for you.”

I took a step inside and noticed right away how homey their house felt. There were family pictures spread all around each wall, beginning from when the girls were babies. I noticed Clover’s baby photos right away, since she was lighter than the rest of the family with blondish hair versus their dark hair. She had chubby cheeks and a huge smile on her face as she tried to blow out candles on what looked like her birthday cake. The rest were various pictures of all the girls growing up during family outings and vacations, none of which I’d ever had in my life. I almost envied her for growing up in such a loving family, but I couldn’t fault her for that. It made her the person she was today. Damn, in each picture she seemed to get more and more beautiful as she got older.

I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and when I turned around, the vision before me made me want to drop to my knees and thank God to be alive. Clover was descending the stairs with another girl, who was more than likely her other sister, Ashley, right behind her, but it was Clover who had my full attention.

“Hey, Range. I’m ready to go if you are.”

I took a step toward her with an almost animalistic need to touch her somehow. I reached up with my hand and lightly ran my index finger across her cheek as I looked into her beautiful eyes to convey my need, making her blush a beautiful shade of pink almost immediately.

“Hey, tootsie baby. You look beautiful.” I still had my finger on her cheek as we maintained eye contact when one of her sisters laughed out loud at my nickname for Clover.

“He calls you tootsie baby? That’s too cute. I like him already.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her little outburst, even though Clover had a look on her face like she was ready to run out the door at any minute. Since Clover was in a daze, I decided I should introduce myself to her other sister, so I stuck out my hand for a quick greeting.

“Hi, I’m Range. You must be Ashley. Nice to meet you.” Ashley reached out her little hand, and with a firm grip, gave me a shake. “Nice to meet you, too, Range. Clover has told us all about you.”

“Oh really? And what exactly has Clover said about me?”

Clover quickly snapped out of her trance, grabbed my hand, and dragged me out the door before either of the girls had a chance to respond. All I could hear was a chorus of giggles as we exited the house. I walked her over to the passenger side and opened the door for her to get in. Before she could climb up into the cab, I grabbed her hand and spun her around. As soon as she gasped in surprise, I kissed her firmly on the mouth. It wasn’t like the passionate kiss we’d shared the night before, but a kiss to let her know just how much I’d missed her and couldn’t wait to spend the day with her. When I pulled back to take a look at her gorgeous face, she smiled the biggest, brightest smile I had ever seen. I could swear she was glowing. I released her hand and helped her up into the cab, waiting until she secured her seat belt before closing the door. I ran around the front of the truck to climb into the driver’s side, and with one final glance at Clover, I set off toward the junkyard.

A few short minutes into the drive, Clover turned to face me with a curious look in her eyes and asked, “Why did Buck leave you the junkyard? He must have had family somewhere.” It was a valid question. I just didn’t know how much I wanted to tell her about my past, so I decided to answer the best way I knew how. “Buck considered all of us his boys, me in particular. We all needed him for one reason or another. Most of the time, it was a decent meal or a clean set of clothes. When he decided to retire, he felt I was the most responsible of the bunch, so he left it to me to run.” I hoped my answer was enough to satisfy her curiosity. I didn’t want anything to ruin our day together, and dredging up the past was a sure fire way to send my thoughts straight to hell.

“I guess that makes a lot of sense. He sounds like a wonderful man, and I hope I get to meet him someday.” She reached over the center console and intertwined our fingers, smiling as we made our way. I couldn’t help the warm feeling this girl invoked in my chest. I didn’t think I had ever been this happy in my entire life, and it was all thanks to my tootsie girl.

I should have known that happiness wasn’t meant for me in this life and like most things, it always came at a price.

Clover

As we made our way to the junkyard, I could feel the excitement growing in Range. The old sign that read “Buck’s Junkyard” had announced our arrival, but it was the strange man sitting outside on a motorcycle who for some reason made me feel on edge. He was dressed in all black from head to toe, including a black bandana that was tied around his mouth and nose. He was dirty, but not from lack of bathing. From the looks of things, he must have been traveling a long way, since dust and grime were all over the bike. He was wearing some sort of vest that had patches all over the front of it with the name Craze in the corner.

Range put the car in park and began to get out, but I yanked on his hand I was holding to stop him.

“Do you know him? He looks sort of dangerous.”

“No, he probably just needs a part or something and didn’t realize we were closed on Saturday. I’ll just let him know to come back on Monday.”

“Ok, just be careful.”

“Always, baby.”

Range gave my hand a quick squeeze, got out of the truck, and made his way over to the man on the bike. As he approached, the stranger removed the bandana that was covering his face, and took his helmet off. He didn’t smile or look like a weary traveler in need of motorcycle parts; he looked more like a rattlesnake ready to strike at any moment. His eyes narrowed on Range as he tilted his head to the side like he was contemplating something. I knew I shouldn’t have, but I turned the key in the ignition just enough to roll down the window so I could hear what they were saying.

“Can I help you with something? The yard is closed on Saturday.”

“Don’t need parts, man, looking for Buck.” He took the bandana and wiped the back of his neck with it then placed it in his back pocket. He placed his hands on his handlebars as he waited for Range to reply. I could see that Range was contemplating telling this guy Buck was retired and was no longer running the junkyard. Range was too smart to give this guy Buck’s location without a damn good reason.

“And who’s askin’?”