Chapter 11
Upon seeing my key, I was immediately overwhelmed by feelings of relief and joy! Those feelings however, were quickly replaced by anger and resentment. She knew I had been out there looking for it and here she had it the whole time. I forced myself up and hobbled over to her.
"Do you think you're funny, playing me like that?" I snapped. Everyone in the room stopped talking, including Shannon. She turned and faced me with a look of resignation in her eyes. "Do you know what you just did to me?" I continued now getting angrier. "I told you that key is my most personal and precious possession. And here you had it all this time, knowing I was out there searching for it for over half an hour! You just put me through hell for no reason! Give it to me! GIVE IT TO ME, NOW!" I shouted.
I held out my left hand. Her expression now became one of fear and I followed her gaze down to my right hand which was clenched in a fist. She put down her drink and hurriedly tried to slip the chain up over her head. Her hands were shaking nervously and she fumbled twice. Then she hastily walked on by—dropping the chain in my open hand while avoiding any eye contact with me.
I heard a girl's voice behind me quietly remark, "He's a complete jerk." There were many other more graphic and profane remarks being murmured about me as well. I glanced down at my fist and I relaxed it. I sat back down at the counter and stared at my food. A few minutes later the cheerleaders began leaving until Jill and I were the only ones who remained.
"You have to go now. I'm leaving and locking up the house," she said.
"I… I don't know what came over me," I confessed while looking at her and slowly shaking my head—now feeling totally ashamed. "I shouldn't have gotten angry and yelled at her like that. I'm truly sorry." She stared at me but said nothing.
I exited out the back door and slowly walked toward the front of the house where the Ferrari was parked. AJ had already left with Shannon. I got in the car and headed back to the Muller's house while stopping to get some gas along the way. My legs were slowly recuperating and I knew that they would feel even better after a good rub down with liniment. I tried to cheer myself up with the knowledge that I had saved Lori Cheponis' life, but it was hard.
After parking the car, I grabbed my guitar case from the front trunk. As I made my way out of the garage and into the foyer, I saw Stacy, Shannon, and AJ all sitting around the kitchen table. As soon as Shannon and AJ saw me, they got up from the table and bolted upstairs. I walked into the kitchen and before I even had a chance to put my guitar down, Mrs. Muller advanced toward me. She looked both furious and upset!
"Who gave you permission to take that car?" she challenged in a loud, accusatory tone.
I didn't reply.
"Answer me when I'm talking to you!"
"No one," I calmly answered.
"Who do you think you are coming into my house and doing and taking whatever you want? Do you know the trouble you might just have brought on us! Is it true that with my daughter in that car, you were driving over 100 miles an hour?"
Again, I did not respond.
"Answer my question, young man!"
I nodded my head yes.
"Is it also true that you lied to me about how you got injured last night, that you tried to break into Teri's room, and that just a short time ago you threatened Shannon?"
I put the guitar case down and turned to walk away.
"You stand here and face me when I'm talking to you!"
I turned around and faced her.
"When Charlene Colson asked me if I could help her by taking you into my home, she assured me that you were an honor student and a respectable, well-behaved, boy. That was the only reason I agreed to do it. But you have shown yourself to be anything but that. You are a reckless, brash, nosy, hothead and you are no longer welcome in this house. After dinner, I'm driving you to a hotel. Until that time, I want you to stay away from my daughters—don't go near them! Understand? Now go pack your bags!"
I picked up the guitar and walked into the family room just as the phone rang. After retrieving some bruise liniment and a fresh set of clothes, I went upstairs to take a long, hot shower. AJ's bedroom door was open, and so I walked over to it and stood in the doorway. She was sitting on the edge of her bed and looked up at me with a apprehensive expression. Then she whispered, "It wasn't me. It was Shannon."
"I know."
"I'm really sorry."
"Don't worry about it."
I could hear Mrs. Muller coming up the stairs, so I rushed into the bathroom. She knocked on the bathroom door and I cracked it open. While staring at me with a perplexed expression on her face, she remarked, "Cheryl Cheponis is on the phone. She's inviting you over to her house for dinner tonight. She says she wants to meet the boy who saved their daughter's life at the beach today."
"Sure. Tell her I'll join them for dinner."
She continued to stare at me with that same bewildered expression. Then she turned and went back downstairs. I jumped in the shower and let the hot water pour over me for a long time. After showering, I gave my legs a vigorous rub down with the liniment. I then dressed and went down to the kitchen. Stacy and Shannon were sitting at the table talking. Shannon glanced up as I entered the room, but then quickly averted her eyes. Stacy said, "They'll be here in 15 minutes and they said to bring your bathing suit if you want."
"Okay, I'll bring it. But I've honestly had my fill of swimming for today."
A car soon pulled up in front and I went out to meet it. After sliding into the passenger's seat, I was greeted with, "Hi, I'm Cheryl Cheponis, Lori's mom. You're Lance, right?"
"Yes ma'am."
"It's nice to meet you. When we met Lori at the hospital, Keith Mitterhauser was there with her. Since he's on the swim team and is dating Shannon Muller, we assumed he was there with the girls at the beach when this accident happened and that he was the one who had rescued her. But Lori said that she thought it was another boy who had swum out to rescue her. She kept insisting it wasn't Keith. We thought she might be… you know… a little delirious. Then Keith confessed that it was a boy that was staying with the Muller's who had saved her. That's why I called Stacy to invite you over. She sounded surprised to hear this story. Didn't you or Shannon mention anything to her about it?"
"I guess I never really got the chance to before you called their house."
"Well, I haven't personally told you this yet, but thank you for saving my daughter's life!"
"You're welcome."
Two minutes later we were at her house.
"We don't live that far away, but driving is quicker than walking," she remarked while smiling.
I stepped out of the car and then followed her into a large two-story home. Lori walked out of the living room and greeted us. She appeared shy as she said, "Hello." Her father came over and upon seeing my physique, greeted me with, "Another football player, I take it?"
"No. I'm not into football."
"Good for you. The school already caters enough to those meat heads."
I heard people coming down from the second floor and I glanced up to see who I guessed to be Lori's younger brother. And following him, to my astonishment was Reina Kobayashi!
"You live here?" I asked with surprise as she sauntered down the stairs.
"Do you two know each other?" asked Cheryl.
"We met on the beach last night at Keith's party."
"Then I guess you already know that Reina is a foreign exchange student from Japan who is going to be staying with us this school-year."
"No. Actually, I didn't know that. We only met for a brief moment."
"Hello, Lance-san, or should I say, hero-san?" remarked Reina while smiling and flashing her eyes. I started to feel butterflies in my stomach.
"Did you bring your bathing suit?" asked Cheryl. "Would you like to go for a dip in the pool before supper?"
"Yes, I did bring it. But to be honest with you, I've kind of had my fill of swimming today."
"We have a hot tub, if you would like to go so
ak in it."
"A hot tub? That would be fantastic!"
"Lori, take Lance up to your room and show him where he can change."
"I will take him up to my room and he can change there," interjected Reina quickly, "If that is agreeable to him."
"Sure. I guess… I mean… it doesn't matter to me."
I followed her up the stairs and into her room. She closed the door behind us, smiled at me, and then began to unbutton her shirt.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa"! I exclaimed. "Wait a minute! We're not getting changed in the same room at the same time."
Reina playfully laughed and said, "I know. I was only teasing you." She slowly moseyed on by me while brushing her body up against mine before exiting out the door. Teasing my eye! I thought as I locked it and took a deep, relaxing breath.
The hot tub felt fabulous. Lori and I sat opposite each other. She kept staring at me but would quickly avert her gaze whenever I stared back. It was making me feel a little uncomfortable.
"Is Reina or your brother going to join us?" I asked.
"I think she'll be down soon."
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. Thank you for saving my life," she softly said.
"You're welcome. I'm a lifeguard. It was my duty. You're a junior, right?"
"Uh-huh. Those tattoos on your arms; are they for good luck?"
"They're not really meant for good luck. Do you read Chinese?"
"No. It's just that Reina has almost the same kind of tattoo and when I asked her what it meant, she said it was for good luck."
"I never noticed any tattoo on her arms."
"It's on her lower back."
"Huh. If I get a chance, I'll see if I can read it and let you know what it says."
"Okay" she replied while smiling.
Reina soon joined us wearing a skimpy, blue bikini. Her body was a perfect blend of muscularity and femininity in one complete cornucopia of curvaceousness! My hormones awoke with a jump-start! She slid into the hot tub and submerged herself in the water up to her neck—much to my relief. But in an instant she was by my side. Under the cover of the bubbles and foam, she rested her left hand on top of my right thigh. She gently caressed it while smiling innocently and then began making conversation like nothing underhanded was going on!
If it's possible for a person to sweat under water, I was now doing it! Then her hand began to slowly creep up my thigh toward my groin, so I quickly moved my right hand down to intercept it. As I seized her wrist, she responded by grabbing my inner thigh so hard I yelped in pain and shock! Lori stared at me suspiciously while Reina turned and naively asked, "Are you alright, Lance-san? Is there something wrong?"
At last and to my relief, Mrs. Cheponis called out that dinner was ready and to come in to eat. As Reina exited the tub I followed her—trying to focus my eyes on the tiny tattoo inked onto the small of her back just above her behind. This was enormously challenging because as she walked, her hips swayed in a sensuous, circular, motion that could only be described as "synchronized sin!"
I laughed, and Lori asked, "Is it Chinese?"
"No," I replied. "It's Kanji."
She looked at me puzzled.
"Japanese," I remarked.
"Does it mean 'good luck?"
"Hardly. It reads kunoichi."
"What does that mean?"
"In ancient Japan, a kunoichi was a female shinobi."
"A female what?"
"A female ninja or assassin. They specialized in the art of seduction."
"Female ninja? Why would she have a tattoo of that?"
"I don't know. Probably the same reason someone would have a tattoo of Superman's 'S' symbol, or Batman's 'Bat' symbol. I guess for her and other Japanese girls, a kunoichi is a folk hero."
Eventually, we all sat down at the dinner table and Reina sat across from me. To my relief she did not try to engage in any foot play. As we ate, Mr. Cheponis asked, "It's my understanding that you're also an exchange student from Canada?"
"Yes, sir."
"And you're staying with Stacy Muller and her girls?"
"I was supposed to be staying with Mike and Charlene Colson. But since Mr. Colson is in the hospital, Mrs. Colson asked Mrs. Muller if she could put me up until another host family can be found. I'm really only staying there temporarily."
"Yes, I heard about Mike Colson. That's too bad. I'd offer to have you stay here, but we already have an exchange student and there's no additional room."
"He can stay with me in my room any time," remarked Reina quietly in Japanese under her breath.
"I wouldn't mind doing that, kunoichi," I replied in the same language. "However, since there's only room in your bed for one person, you'd have to sleep on the couch!" Her eyes grew large, her mouth dropped open, and her face began to turn red as she stared at me in complete shock.
"Did I just miss something or were you now speaking Japanese?" asked Mr. Cheponis while staring at me inquisitively.
"Apparently, there is more to him than meets the eye," said Reina admiringly, now having recovered. Then in Japanese she said, "But what meets my eyes is sexy hot!"
Now it was my turn to blush. I reached with my left hand to get the salt shaker. Before I could however, Reina grabbed my forearm and turned it inside up. She studied the tattoo and said aloud, "Honor and courage."
"I'm impressed," I remarked while nodding my head yes.
"Let me see your other arm," she said.
"No," I replied.
"Please, I'd like to know what it says," said Lori.
"You have to honor your hostess, Lance-san," remarked Reina in Japanese while smiling.
I rolled my eyes while turning my right forearm so she could read the tattoo. She silently mouthed the words and then stared at me inquisitively.
"Well?" asked Lori. But Reina said nothing.
"Are you trying to tell me, kunoichi, that you've never noticed these tattoos until now?" I asked in Japanese.
"My eyes were always focused on other parts of your body," she replied while flashing her eyes.
Once again, I could feel my face becoming hot and flushed.
"How about we all speak English here," said Mr. Cheponis. "This is America you know."
It was getting awkward and Cheryl said, "Is anyone ready for dessert?"
"I am," quickly replied Mr. Cheponis.
After supper Reina approached Mrs. Cheponis and asked, "Lance has asked me to go for a walk with him. Is that okay with you?"
"I guess," replied Cheryl, surprised. "But don't be gone too long. I do have to get him back to the Muller's sometime tonight."
"Reina, you're too audacious," I remarked in Japanese while laughing.
"Let us get away from here," she replied while taking me by the hand.
I had no objections, and so we exited the house and began to walk down the street toward a park that was a short distance away—conversing in Japanese as we went.
"Where did you learn to speak my language?" she asked.
"My mentor taught me it."
"Where did you learn to read Traditional Chinese?" I asked.
"My Godfather taught me. Do you think I am pretty?"
I stood there staring at her while shaking my head in amazement at her continual audacity. Finally, I replied, "Yes, I actually think that you're remarkably beautiful—one of the prettiest girls I have ever seen."
She smiled happily. "Why did you come to this American school?"
"I needed to get away from home. This school wasn't too far away and as good a place as any to come to. What about you? Why are you here?"
"I came here to learn how to speak English" she replied while smiling and flashing her eyes mischievously.
"But you… speak it perfectly…"
She continued to smile, but said nothing more.
We walked down to the park, sat on some swings, and then headed back while conversing about all manner of subjects. Commenting on her incredible physique, I asked if she was into
martial arts, athletics, or some kind of organized sports.
"I am pleased to know that you cannot keep your eyes off of my body," she answered while smiling seductively and again, flashing her eyes.
Once again, my face turned red as I slowly shook my head in wonder. "You are way too much," I laughed, now switching back to English.
"Too much for you to handle?" she asked while again laughing playfully.
I smiled and sighed. We continued to walk and talk, and we soon found ourselves back at the Cheponis'.
"I guess I'll see you sometime in school tomorrow."
"See you, Lance-san. I had fun this evening." She waved goodbye and then ran upstairs to her room. Lori looked disappointed when we came back, and I felt bad for having deserted her.
"I guess I'd better get home now," I said to Mrs. Cheponis.
"I hope you enjoyed yourself."
"I did, and thanks for having me over."
Mr. Cheponis shook my hand and said, "Thanks for what you did today. If you ever need a favor, you just let me know."
"You're welcome, and thanks for the offer."
I was driven back to the Muller's. As I entered the house, Stacy greeted me with, "It's late now. I'll take you to a hotel tomorrow."
This sobering statement immediately ruined what otherwise had been a fairly enjoyable evening.