“I looked up at Lee when we stopped in front of Hector and informed him helpfully, “You might want to take your arm away. Blanca tells me Hector doesn’t like men touching me.”
“Blanca told you that?” Lee asked, his smile (and arm) still firmly in place.
“Yes. She’s known Hector, like, his whole life so I think she’s in the position to know.”
Lee nodded, his smile somehow bigger like he was trying not to laugh then his eyes moved to Hector and he said, “I tried to stop it.”
Hector looked at Lee then looked at me then he muttered, “Oh fuck.”
“It was Ally’s idea,” Lee told Hector.
“What was Ally’s idea?” Hector asked Lee.
“It was not Ally’s idea!” I cried.
“It wasn’t!” super-power-eared Ally yelled from the open back window of Lee’s Explorer. “It was Sadie’s idea. I just was offering moral support.”
“Shut up, Ally!” Indy shouted out the open passenger side window.
“I will not shut up! I’m not taking the fall for this one!” Ally shouted back.
I turned to the car, dislodging Lee’s arm and lifted both my hands and pressed down. “No one’s going to take a fall. Everyone calm down. It’s all okay. It’s rock ‘n’ roll!” I screamed.
“Righteous!” Ally screamed back.
“Rock on, sister!” Indy screamed too.
“It’s rock ‘n’ roll?” Lee asked, sounding as amused as he looked.
“You all wanna quit screamin’ at three o’clock in the mornin’ in my fuckin’ neighborhood?” Hector suggested.
Mm, well maybe we were being an eensy bit loud.
“Time for beddie by,” I announced (sounding like Ralphie), got up on tiptoe, kissed Lee’s cheek (like Ralphie and Buddy would do to me), turned and gave Indy and Ally a double devil’s horns (like Ava taught me) and shouted, “Rock on!”
They shouted back in unison, “Rock on!”
“Christ,” Hector muttered.”
―
Kristen Ashley,
Rock Chick Regret
