“One day, we were walking out of a store and the alarm went off. We all took off, but I was one of the guys who got caught by security. Danny wasn’t. But they checked my backpack, and evidently, he’d slipped an MP3 player into it. Not even like an iPod—some piece-of-shit crap. There was some back-and-forth between my foster family at the time and the state…about what they were going to do with me…if I needed to go to juvie. I got fussed at by anyone and everyone. I ended up getting put back in a place with the state. There was this lady, Judy, who was in charge of me with the state, and she kept telling me how this could ruin my lifeforever.
“It was shitty, and everyone was pretty fucked up about the whole thing, but I kind of look at it as a blessing. The next year was when the Morgans came to the shelter I was at and ended up taking me in. Charlotte and Stan really made me feel like they believed in me, like they believed I could be more than some problemkid.”
“Oh, wow,” I say, surprised. I sure as fuck wouldn’t be so willing to talk about my past to some complete stranger, but I feel privileged, and I’m glad he shared it. It adds a lot more to the sense that this is kind of adate.
I can appreciate that, like myself, he’s had to deal with a lot more crap in this world than most people, especially for someone soyoung.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make that a Debbie Downer moment,” he says, like he just realized he wasranting.
“That was definitely not a Debbie Downer moment,” I assure him. “That actually ended on a very positive note. Your whole life clearly has. Look at you now. You’re not some kid smoking joints at amall.”
“I think I’m a little old for malls ingeneral.”
“So Charlotte and Stan are your parents’ names? They sound like really goodpeople.”
“They are,” Jesse says. “Incredible people. The best. They changed my life, and they always believed in me even when I didn’t believe inmyself.”
“That’s really important,” Iadd.
I can definitely understand the value of that, especially having grown up with such a shit father, who never made me feel very special. Never believed I could be anything better, never cared if anything came ofme.
Jesse’s gaze wanders toward the beach as if he’s reflecting on what we shared. He already had me intrigued, but after hearing about his childhood, I know if I wasn’t already in trouble, I sure as fuck amnow.
21
Jesse
It wasnice talking to Eric about that shit from when I was akid.
As I told him, the moment I mention I was adopted, most people want to change the subject. They’re worried I’m all broken and bent out of shape because of it. Whitney was the only one I was really able to get some of that shit out to. And even then, I always felt like she would have preferred I glossed over the not-so-greatstuff.
But now Eric’s kind of looking at me funny as the pitcher of margaritasarrives.
The waiter pours our glasses, and Eric says, “We’ll have the Fajita Combo forTwo.”
The waiter jots it down before heading off, and I say, “Well, I guess I didn’t even need to look at themenu.”
“I told you, they have great fajitas. It’s okay, I’ll let you pay if that makes you feelbetter.”
“You think you’re so charming, don’t you?” Iask.
“I have the occasionalmoment.”
“They seem more thanoccasional.”
His amusement turns to apparentsurprise.
“What is it?” Iask.
“Your cut-to-the-chase attitude catches me off guardsometimes.”
“You prefer guys who make you feel incontrol?”
“I wouldn’t say I prefer it, but it’s what I’m used to. I actually think I enjoy this a littlemore.”
“Just a little?” I ask as I kick my leg out and caress along the side of his foot with my big toe, the ends of our flip-flopstouching.
He stares at me with that same desire I’ve become so familiar with in such a brief amount oftime.
