My Love, My Drug, My Release

Chapter 23: Jailbait

Since this 'party' was so last minute, there wasn't a lot of preparation that could be done, but it didn't matter; Linda was fulfilling her responsibilities as a dutiful wife in other ways.

For one, they were having sex again. Jack was right, you could hear them clear through the walls in his room. I spent more time with my brother's things after we finished our conversation in the kitchen. Just looking at his records and books and sketches brought me comfort. I almost couldn't believe he left town without them.

Another thing Linda was doing that I could tell Paul liked were her constant ego strokings. Even though she hadn't heard the new songs, no one had, she praised them relentlessly, saying crazy shit like how, in ten years, no one would even think of his as a former Beatle.

I forced myself not to dell on either of them. Keith was coming, and Anita too! Between Thelma and Gallagher and detention, they'd slipped briefly from my consciousness, but now they were back with a vengeance. 

For our first reunion since my birthday, I selected a pair of cut-off shorts that I usually reserved for the beach, if at all. I'd purchased them during one of the few shopping trips Maureen and Pattie took me on, and, luckily, they still fit. Then I put on an off-the-shoulder top that showed my stomach like the ones some of my cheer friends wore. When I looked in the mirror, I felt a bit insecure about all the skin showing, so I put on a pair of black knee-highs, but that somehow seemed even more scandalous. And I loved it. I carefully combed my hair into two separate pigtails and smeared some pink lipstick across my mouth. I looked dangerous, fun, exciting, full of a young girl's impulses. Jailbait.

I made sure to stay in my room, knowing that Paul would make me change if he saw my outfit, so I waited until Linda called me, the hum of voices meaning at least most of the guests were already there.

"Lo, are you going to be joining us sometime tonight?"

"Yes, coming!" I shouted back, throwing on some expired mascara before descending the stairs. 

This wasn't my birthday, so I wasn't trying to make a big entrance, but everyone's gaze was on me anyway.  I wasn't nervous though. The first person I made eye contact with was Keith. He was smiling, his crooked tooth visible and a sparkle in his eye. Next to him was Anita, and she was biting her lower lip, her hair piece-y and perfect. Seeing them again was like stepping through a magic portal into a different world where everything was warm and sweet and splendid.

"There's my Lo," Keith said loudly, unafraid to proclaim that I was his. He held out a hand like we were dance partners and I took it, letting him twirl me before pulling me flush against his body, arm around my waist, kissing me on the cheek. "You're beautiful."

Anita reached out to twist my pigtail, her fingers trailing over my collarbone. "Our lovely Lo, our lovely Lo-LAH!" I'd never heard her sing, and yet every sentence she uttered was melodic.

"Lola, you'll be our Lola," Keith whispered in my ear. "Don't let anyone else call you that.

I nodded, feeling a rush of unexpected emotion; there was another musician couple that had a special name for me, and I hadn't seen them since the Beatles split, not even after Yoko called me at home. But I shoved that to the left and focused on what was in front of me, the two sets of eyes that looked at me like I was Aphrodite and not a skinny, curveless fifteen-year-old with overgrown fringe. I'd genuinely never felt sexier.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder, and I braced myself to have to deal with whatever shit Paul was about to give me, but, instead, I found myself face to face with someone completely different, someone who was certainly not a stranger.

"Lorraine, Lorraine Foxwell." Why was he pretending? He knew goddamn well Paul was my step-father.

"Oh, sorry love," Denny Laine said, coming up to us, stoned already. "This is my cousin, Henry."

I didn't smile or shake his hand, because we were already well-acquainted, and, for some reason, God saw it fit to punish me with his presence in my home. Denny's cousin was my least-favorite teacher, Mr. Grant.

Woah, plot twist, maybe you guys saw it coming, I don't know. Yeah, hope you all enjoyed, and there will be more up soon, just trying to pace myself.