Treasure

by Rebekah Weatherspoon

  I wanted more time with you too. We need to spend more time alone. Like in my closet.

  My mom has a huge closet. Wanna check it out?

  Yeah. Let’s go hook up on top of your mom’s shoes and personal records. When is she coming back?

  A few hours. We’re stuck with these little boogers until then.

  Can I ask you something?

  Yeah.

  How did they end up with you?

  Trisha didn’t mean to let out such an odd exhale, but she did.

  Alexis leaned over and murmured in her ear. “Sorry. You don’t have to talk about it.”

  “No, it’s okay.”

  My godmother died when the twins were three. The monster coloring over there and her sister. My mom didn’t want the kids getting split up or ending up with crazy foster parents so she took them.

  That’s pretty cool. Did I ruin the mood? Alexis sent. And then, Should I tell you that I dreamt about you last night? I dreamt about you naked.

  What was I doing?

  Teasing me.

  Like this?

  The kids definitely weren’t paying attention, so Trisha grabbed her mom’s sweatshirt off the arm of the couch and draped it over their laps. Then she shoved her hands between Alexis’s legs. She shot her another message

  I can text one-handed.

  Alexis blinked for a moment then sighed. She gripped her phone and fired a message back, but before Trisha could read it, Alexis’s free hand was under the sweatshirt, moving around her lap. She risked a glance at her phone.

  You took care of me last night. Let me return the favor.

  Is this how it’s going to be? Returning favors?

  Yes.

  There was no way she was going to come. She couldn’t with the kids in the room. But she didn’t want Alexis to stop. Instead, she told her to slow down. It was enough just to have Alexis’s hand where it was, nestled between her legs, pressing the seam of her jeans against her clit. Her whole body was burning. The attraction and the need that came with being near Alexis seemed to simmer in her gut, it boiled up around her chin, over her cheeks. All she could do was breathe and sigh and fight to swallow and text. Her heart thumped. She was glad she’d never fallen for anyone before Alexis, before she’d gotten on her feet and learned how to take care of herself. Her sense of responsibility kept her from ditching the kids to get Alexis naked again. The young, immature Trisha would have suggested they run away. She would have thought it was a great idea for them to skip out on school for a few weeks so they could find some place comfortable and private to fuck around. Luckily, she knew better.

  A few times Alexis had to move her hand. Kara spun around to show them her work of art, and Kit emerged from her bedroom to announce that she was going to the park with her friends. Dina declared she was hungry and wanted to use the toaster oven because the microwave didn’t cook her pizza bagels the right way. But once the kids settled, Alexis returned her hand right back to where it belonged. Until Trisha’s mom came home.

  Chapter Eight

  It was a little after three, and they still hadn’t cracked a book open. Trisha’s mom burst through the door in her typical fashion. Trisha tossed the sweatshirt.

  “If you want to eat, bring in the rest of the groceries!” she called from the kitchen. Daryl, Dina, and Kara took that at face value and scrambled to find their shoes. Trisha’s mom rubbed Daryl’s head as he squirmed by her. “Don’t let Kara carry too much.” He mumbled his okay and kept it moving.

  Then Trisha’s mom turned and gave Alexis a thorough once-over, hands on her hips and everything.

  “This is my girlfriend, Alexis. Alexis, this is my mom, Sophie Hamilton.”

  Alexis stood and offered her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Her mom gave Alexis’s hand a firm shake then she resumed her defensive stance. “Nice to meet you, too.”

  Trisha hoped she was just joking around.

  “So, Alexis. I have to ask you, what are your plans with my daughter?”

  “Uh…”

  “Mom. For real?”

  “Yes. I’m the mother. I get to interrogate.”

  Alexis cleared her throat then glanced at Trisha before she looked back at her mom. “We’ve only been hanging out for a little while, but I like her a lot, and I want to keep hanging out with her.”

  “And that’s it?”

  “Not to be rude, Mrs. Hamilton, but I’m only eighteen, and right now I’m doing my best to focus on my grades. I don’t think I’m too young, or we’re too young to be in a serious relationship, but I do think I’m too young to say right now that we’re going to be together forever. I am going to respect her, though, and be everything I can for her. We’re figuring out how we feel about each other, but the most important thing is Trisha is my friend. A real friend. I’ve never had a real friend like her before.”

  Trisha’s mouth was actually hanging open. That may have been the most Alexis had ever said at once, and it was fucking perfect. Her mom’s face softened, but Alexis wasn’t done yet.

  “So, I guess my plan is to keep spending time with her and hoping she wants to spend time with me. Also our comp sci teacher has high hopes for us both. I’m hoping we can impress him together.”

  Trisha stood and wrapped her arms around Alexis’s waist and perched on her tiptoes so she could rest her chin on Alexis’s shoulder. She tried not to laugh, but she did smile. “Does that answer your question, Mom?”

  Her mom glared at her for a moment before she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. You’re welcome here any time, especially if you want to help with the kids and the cooking and the cleaning.”

  “Thank you. I can’t cook, but I know how to fold laundry and run a vacuum.”

  “Both good skills to have.”

  “Kit’s down the street with her friends, and Kelsey is napping in your bed. And I put some cash in the jar. We’re going to take off, if you don’t need anything else,” Trisha said, reaching for her backpack. Alexis looked a little shocked, but she got with the program and picked up her own backpack. “There’s some candy in that bag, if you want to use it for a little bribery.”

  Her mom shook her head with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Scram. I’ll see you on Tuesday.” They said their good-byes to the kids then Trisha led Alexis out to their cars. She still seemed confused.

  “We could have stayed and helped out some more,” Alexis said.

  “Nah. I’ll explain when we get to my apartment. If you want to come over to my apartment. I promise we’ll study.”

  “Yeah, sure. I’ll follow you.”

  “’Kay.” Trisha leaned up and kissed her one more time for good measure. “That was awesome, what you just said.”

  Alexis shrugged. “I was just being honest.”

  “Come on.” Trisha nudged her toward her driver’s side door. “I’m not too far from here.”

  *

  They didn’t do much studying. Alexis followed Trisha to her apartment in one of those forgotten neighborhoods between her mom’s house in Inglewood and the packed-in mansions of Beverly Hills. She followed her to the second floor unit Trisha called home, and after a quick glance at her sparsely-decorated, sparsely-furnished living room, she followed Trisha to her bed to finish the teasing they’d started on Mrs. Hamilton’s couch. As they kissed and tore off each other’s clothes, it finally clicked in Alexis’s head that sex was something she could have now, because she wanted it. Because Trisha wanted her. She also realized she’d have to get better at it, or least good at it if she wanted to keep Trisha around.

  She had figured out the kissing just fine, and the humping and grinding didn’t require any real skill, but when she found herself between Trisha’s legs, with her face exactly where she’d imagined it for weeks, Trisha let her know immediately that there was such a thing as moving your tongue too fast and a little too hard. Trisha was patient with her, though, and told her exactly what was working and what wasn’t. Alexis got her there with her f
ingers, which seemed to be more than okay with Trisha.

  But that was just the start of things. When she could think, Alexis worried that they wouldn’t stop. There was too much of Trisha’s body to explore. And then it was such a big deal that she felt so comfortable with someone touching her naked skin, she didn’t want it to end. They kept at it. Slow, then fast; eager, then lazy. It seemed to work best for them when they were face-to-face, kissing, rubbing against each other. There was more, but Alexis figured they could get more adventurous later.

  They stopped for a little while, just lying there on Trisha’s rumpled sheets. Trisha’s neighbor was blasting music. The thump of the bass seemed to work well with the buzz from Trisha’s AC unit. A dust bunny flitted down to Trisha’s hair, and Alexis wiped it away.

  “Why did we leave your mom’s so fast?” she asked.

  “Our relationship is weird. I was really close with my godmother, especially after my dad passed away. When she died, I kinda lost it. I don’t know what you’re supposed to do in that situation. I guess I could have really been there for my mom, but I was too lost. When she took in the kids, I thought it would be better if I wasn’t there. I was old enough to take care of myself. Or so I thought.”

  “How did you leave?” Alexis asked like she was planning to make her own escape. In a way, she was.

  “It was gradual. My friend Quanisha, Mystic? Her mom let me spend the night all the time. When Regina died, she knew I needed a place to, ya know, escape and cry. My mom was so busy getting things squared away with the kids. She didn’t mind me being over there all the time. One day she realized I hadn’t been home for more than five minutes in a month. I know it sounds like she was a bad mom or something, but I was slick about it, and five young kids can be plenty to keep you occupied. I don’t know. I took advantage of her grief a little.”

  “How’d you end up dancing?”

  “Quanisha and I wanted to get jobs to help out both our moms. I wanted to give Q’s mom a little something for feeding me and letting me use her electricity, and I knew my mom was overwhelmed. We knew a girl who got a fake ID and started dancing at this place called Stardust. We tried it, and it worked. After a few weeks, I dropped out of school. My mom didn’t know until it was too late for her to do anything about it. I was eighteen. I’d saved up enough money to get my own apartment. I promised that I’d get my GED and at least get my associate’s degree or some technical training, but she was pissed about the stripping even though the money helps a lot. She’s still pissed.”

  “So you don’t hang around her much?”

  “Nah. She always has something to say, but she’ll always take the money. I know she just wants better for me, but I’m doing my best. I think she thinks she fucked up with me and then she’s pissed because I lied, so we’ll be talking and all that shit comes up and we start arguing. I get it, but yeah.”

  “You’re doing a lot.”

  “I know.”

  “I think that’s kinda how things are with my dad, but we talk even less.”

  Trisha moved a little closer. “Why?”

  “Because I’m not my sister, I think. Or a boy. He got seventy-five percent of a perfect family, and I’m this mistake that’s screwing up his African-American dream.”

  “But why? Has he heard you play the violin? Has he spent two minutes with you?”

  “Yeah, he has. I had a bad year last year, and I think he hoped I was better than a… breakdown. Tougher. More put together.”

  “That’s ridiculous. Everyone has a bad time.”

  “Not in my house.”

  Trisha was quiet for a few seconds. Alexis watched her while Trisha seemed to be thinking things over or maybe thinking about what to say next. Trisha exhaled then quirked her lips to the side. “What do you want to do? Who do you want to be?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” Alexis admitted. She had no clue.

  “Me neither. We’ll be a traveling show. You’ll play, and I’ll dance, and we’ll live off our earnings out of the back of my car. People will tell stories about us.”

  Alexis pictured it. A street corner, her eyes closed, feeling the strings under her fingers and a small crowd gathered around, mesmerized by things that Trisha could do with her ass. The scenario was beautiful and absolutely terrifying. It wasn’t real.

  “I like the way you look at me,” Alexis said. It just popped into her mind, and it was the truth.

  “I like looking at you. Can I ask you something? Can you take these off?” Trisha laughed as she grabbed Alexis’s wrist and held up her bangles. “I can tell you have a thing for accessorizing on the left, but there’s a lot of clanging going on when we’re getting down.”

  Alexis swallowed and tried not to freak out. Trisha had a real-world experience. She hadn’t been sheltered like Alexis had. She could handle this.

  “You okay?” Trisha asked as Alexis pulled her hand back. She pulled off the bracelets and rolled to set them on the floor. Then she sat up, leaning against the wall where a headboard should have been, and showed Trisha her wrist.

  “This was my bad time.”

  Trisha propped herself on her elbow and gently ran a finger over the puckered skin. She looked Alexis in the eye. “Tell me whatever you want. We can talk about it, or we don’t have to talk about it all.”

  “I don’t really want to talk about it. I’m not trying to keep it from you or anything. I just, we’re here. We’re naked. We should probably hit the books soon. Why talk about it?”

  “Well, if you ever want to talk about it, I’ll listen. And you don’t have to cover this up for me. Okay?”

  Alexis actually blew out a sigh of relief as she nodded. Was seeing her therapist even necessary? Maybe she just needed the people in her life to give her some room to navigate this thing the way she wanted to. Maybe she just needed someone like Trisha to know when not to try to dig deeper.

  The song on the neighbors’ boomin’ system changed, and Trisha jumped up from the bed. “This is my shit.” She started dancing at the foot of the bed, silly shimmies and gyrations, the complete opposite of what she’d done at the club.

  “Come dance with me,” Trisha said.

  “I’m a shitty dancer.”

  Trisha bent over and started shaking her ass, completely offbeat. She looked ridiculous and so sexy at the same time. “Come on. You know you want some of dis.”

  Alexis started laughing. “I want all of that dat to come back over here. You don’t want to see me dance.”

  “Fine.” Trisha stopped mid-move and jumped back on the bed, sitting up on her knees with a burst of energy. Dancing really did something for her. “Should we study?”

  “No, but yeah.” Alexis reached for her shirt and her underwear. She tossed Trisha’s shirt at her head. “Put that on. I need to focus.”

  “Since you asked nicely.” Trisha slipped her shirt over her head and kissed Alexis while she groped her boob for a few minutes before she ran to get their bags.

  *

  Over the next few days, it really sunk in. Alexis had a girlfriend. A girlfriend she could hang out with and make out with and fool around with and study with. Over the next three weeks, she also realized that she had a best friend. It did suck having to deal with Trisha’s work schedule, her obligations to the kids, and Alexis having to be around the house enough for her mom not to ask too many questions, but when they could be, they were together. At the library, at Trisha’s, or at the Laundromat. And even when they weren’t together, they were talking or texting.

  Alexis loved that Trisha could be sexy and silly. She loved that Trisha seemed to pick up on when she was having a rough day, whether she was stressed from homework or if she had a particularly awkward run-in with her dad. She loved that Trisha was smart. Like really smart. She got one of three one hundred percents on their first comp sci quiz, and Alexis caught a glimpse of one of the papers she’d gotten back—a flat A. Alexis was doing fine. A’s and B’s. She got a C on a bio test because she’d com
pletely missed a section on the prep sheet, but her professor had told her not to worry. She had plenty of time to bring the C up.

  When their class schedules didn’t match up, Alexis hung out with Pauline a bit. Pauline was really sweet and didn’t mind awkward silences. She didn’t see much of Kami, or maybe Kami didn’t want to see much of her. There was some drama between Christina, Kami, and Quanisha. Pauline mentioned it, but Trisha didn’t bring it up. Alexis decided to blame Kami’s absence on her track schedule and let it go.

  Sasha was around less and less, but Alexis realized there were certain things she could tell Trisha that she couldn’t tell her sister. Also, it was different talking to a girlfriend about sex stuff. Sasha asked about Trisha a lot, but Alexis was not going to give her sister the details of what they did at Trisha’s apartment. Or the details of what they were planning to do. Like now, they were texting about their sex toy needs.

  Alexis was sitting on the couch waiting for her mom to get home so they could go out to dinner. Trisha was at her mom’s, sending Alexis pictures of harnesses she was threatening to buy for her. It was all her own fault. They’d had plenty of toy-free sex, and then one day, like a complete loser, she’d asked Trisha if she should get a strap-on. She’d said it in the dopiest way ever, and Trisha had burst out laughing, even though she’d admitted it might be a good idea.

  A picture popped up of a neon green felt contraption.

  How about this one?

  Alexis made a face to herself and shot a text back. Nope. Looks like a Muppet training harness.

  But I like the green.

  Then buy it, but don’t be mad at me if it rips in half. Or tries to teach you your ABCs.

  While I’m riding you?

  Alexis squirmed. She liked it a lot when Trisha was on top. The kitchen door popped open and her mom called out, “Lexi-wex! Are you ready?”

  Alexis called back as her fingers flew across the screen. “Yup.”

  How about this one? A picture of a mannequin wearing a dildo strapped to its chin. Alexis snorted just as her mom came into the room. Alexis glanced up, but she didn’t even bother to wipe the smile off her face.