“All you have to do is keep him in the car for ten minutes and then kick him out.”

Karen looked into the hard eyes of her boyfriend, Mike, and then into the smiling faces of his three friends.  Her heart pounded in her chest like it wanted to leap from her body and run home without her. Why did I come? Why didn’t I just stay home? The questions poured like rain in her mind ever since she saw Jason’s car pull up and watched him walk to the tree.

“Go on.” Mike pushed lightly in her back. “Take him to your car so he won’t see us. You know that fool will follow you anywhere.”

A small chuckle erupted from the group of teens, before they covered their mouths. They weren’t loud but sound travels easily on summer nights, and the park they all stood in was unusually silent. Not knowing what else to do, Karen left the concealing shadows and walked towards Jason.

Having been in the park for half an hour, her eyes were adjusted to the moonless night. She could see the boy fidgeting from foot to foot at the base of the old Oak tree. I shouldn’t do this to him. I don’t even know him. Damn Mike and his silly pranks.  As she approached, her mind went back to earlier that day.
*****
“Hi, Jason,” she began startling the smaller boy. “Can we talk a minute?”

“Um…sure,” he answered as his face turned a deep shade of red.  Karen knew he was nervous and shy by the way his lips twitched and he looked down at his shoes.

“Look, I know you’ve been watching me.” Jason began shaking his head and opened his mouth. Karen quickly put her finger over his lips to quiet him. “It’s okay; I’m interested in you too.”

His eyes instantly locked onto hers, and Karen was glad she didn’t lie. She was a terrible liar. She was interested in what made the strange boy tick, but only in a socially curious way. His kind was the hated enemy of hers, each sticking to their own group by a culture stronger than any in all of history.

“What…what about Mike. Aren’t you…” he stammered.

“Mike is a jerk, and I’m better off without him.” Again what she said was the truth. She didn’t add that he had sent her, or she was afraid to dump him. “Meet me at nine o’clock at the Old Oak Tree in Williams Park. Do you know the place?”

Jason nodded, and continued to stare at the raven haired beauty. Seeing the joy in his eyes was too much for Karen; she quickly spun and hurried away. She had no doubt he would be there. His kind was notoriously trusting.
***
And there he was standing like a sacrificial lamb for one man’s sick pleasure. Mike said all they wanted to do was scare him, and pretend to car-jack him. As Karen approached Jason, she thought about the baseball bats in Mike’s car and the gloves all the boys had on. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Mike wouldn’t lie about that. All I have to do is stall him for a few minutes; he’ll be fine. He may even laugh too, eventually.

Karen purposely stepped on a dry stick, and Jason turned to the sound. A huge smile grew on his face. He’s so happy to see me.

“I thought …” he began, but then stopped as Karen stood before him.

“You thought what?” she asked looking at him and noticing how different he looked out of his school uniform.

“Nothing…well, I guess I was a little worried you wouldn’t show. You know, that maybe you got busy, or were trying to make a fool of me.” He smiled again and Karen found herself smiling too.

“No, I’m here.” She looked around her, but couldn’t see the guys. “Let’s go to my car. It looks like it may rain.”

Mike was right; Jason followed Karen back to her car without so much as looking for dark clouds. They got into the front seats and sat in silence. Karen realized she had no plan for what to do for ten minutes.  She stared blankly out the window as a gentle rain actually fell, and the windows began to fog over.

“Looks like you were right again.” Jason’s voice shook her out of her haze.

“Yeah, wait, what do you mean… again?”

“Do you remember when you argued with that judge in the spelling bee, and after he looked up the word, he had to apologize in front of everyone. You didn’t win, but you got far.”

“Spelling Bee, that was in the fourth grade.” She stared at the smiling boy. “You remember that? Wait a minute. You weren’t there?”

“I was; we’ve been in the same schools since the first grade. We only live two blocks apart, you know.”

“No we haven’t. I went to Prosser Middle School, and I only met you last year.” Karen searched her memory and could find no image of a younger Jason.

Jason grinned and shook his head. “Do you remember when Mike hid that red scarf you used to wear everywhere?”

Karen’s mind flashed back to her at twelve. She was crying her eyes out to her teacher because someone had stolen her grandmother’s scarf.

“Mike stole…Ms. Tremble gave it back to me. She said Mike found it in the playground.”

Jason shook his head. “Is that what she told you? Well, I guess she just wanted the problem to go away. Mike threw it in the dumpster. After school I climbed in and got it out. I took it home and washed the gunk off. I told Ms. Tremble the next day, but I guess she did what she thought was best.”

Karen stared wide-eyed at Jason, her mind still five years in the past. “Lemons…when I got it back, it smelled like lemons. Just like that fat boy who sat...”

“Yeah, my mom still buys lemon scented laundry detergent, and I lost some weight since then.”

Karen and Jason talked about middle school and all the school trips they both went on, that she never knew he was a part of. He was the one who fixed the flat tire on her bicycle in the sixth grade. She had always thought it was Mike.

“So, who are you taking to the senior prom?” she innocently asked.

The smile fell from Jason’s face and he stared at the falling rain. “I asked Susan and Paula, but they said no. I overheard Mike in the cafeteria mention you two were going. Are you still?”

Karen was about to say yes, when she looked into his soft brown eyes. She was supposed to be broken-up with Mike. That was why she was with Jason. Oh God, what do I say?  Okay, just tell the truth. It’s been more than ten minutes.

“No.” She froze after the word slipped out. Why did I say that? I…I don’t know. I don’t think I want to go with Mike. Who do I want?

She was looking down still struggling with her inner conflict when she felt a soft hand gently lift her chin. She looked up into Jason’s warm brown eyes, felt her eyelids fall and her lips pucker.

Minutes seemed like hours, and when Karen finally came up for air, she was topless and sitting on Jason’s lap. Both were panting like dogs in heat, and a sweat ran down their faces.

“Oh God, I never thought this would happen,” Jason whispered before lowering his head and devouring her left nipple again.

Karen threw her head back and relished the pleasure. Her fingers flowed through his red hair as her mind soared through imaginary clouds. She was in Heaven and had no intention of coming down. By chance her eyes opened and caught a shadow dash across the back window. She gasped as reality brought her crashing down.

Jason released her nipple and looked up into her startled face. “What is it? Did you see something? Is someone out there?” He twisted around in his seat and stared at the white windows.

Jason lifted Karen off of him, placed her in her seat and handed her back her blouse. He put his shirt back on and then reached for the door handle.

“No!” Karen grabbed his arm. “Don’t go out there.”

Smiling, Jason patted her hand. “It’s alright. It may be the park police. It is late. I’ll get my car and pull in next to you. After we clear your windows, I’ll follow you home.”

He turned to leave and again Karen pulled him back.

“Let’s just go, please. We can leave now and come back in the morning. It’s…it’s not safe out there.”

Karen’s lips trembled with real fear, but not for herself. Warm tears swelled in her eyes and fell down her face. Jason reached over and wiped them away.

“It’s okay. I’ll be fine, really. This isn’t some crazy teen movie. Besides the slasher-psycho only kills the guy after he has sex, and we only went to second base.” He reached for the door.

“It’s Mike and three of his friends.” Karen closed her eyes as fresh tears rained down. “He said it was a joke. That they were just going to scare you.” She shook her head, tossing her dark hair over her face. “I think they intend to do more than that. They have baseball bats.” She opened her eyes and stared at the frozen boy through watery vision. “I’m so sorry, Jason. I didn’t…”

She reached out to him, only to see him pull away. He turned toward the door and grabbed the handle.

“No, please,” Karen shouted, and grabbed his arm. “Please, they’ll hurt you. We’ve been in here too long, and Mike will think something happened. He’s not like you. Please, just let me take you home.”

“Why do you care?”

“I…I was only supposed to stall you for ten minutes. I didn’t know you. I know that sounds bad, and it shouldn’t matter. God, I’m so sorry, but please, I don’t want anything to happen to you. Please…I…I like you.”

Karen didn’t wait for an answer. She started her car and flipped on the lights and wipers. Before Jason could argue, she threw the car into gear, and in a hail of gravel peeled out the park.

They were a mile away when Jason finally put his seat belt on and turned to Karen.

“What will they do now? Mike will know you betrayed him. He can be pretty mean.”

Karen gripped the steering wheel and shook her head. “I don’t care what he does to me. I’m through with him. I’m done with all of them. I just want to…to…”

She began crying again. Jason watched her as she alternated between driving and wiping her face. A minute later he pulled out his phone and dialed.

“Hello, police. You need to send a car to Williams Park. There are a bunch of guys destroying a stolen car, and I think they’re going to set it on fire. You better hurry.” He ended the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket. “That ought to take care of them for a few days.”

“But, how do you know they’re…” Karen began, and then saw the look on Jason’s face. “Yeah, if they don’t have you, they’ll take their rage out on your car. I’m sorry. I’ll pay for…”

“Forget it, that’s what insurance is for. Besides, I’m sure you’re saving your cash for a prom dress. All I need to know are two things?”

“And what’s that?”

“What color are you wearing, and what time you’ll be picking me up. Since, my car will still be in the shop.”

A huge smile grew on Karen’s face. “Blue and the prom starts at eight. So, I’ll pick you up at five.”

“Five, isn’t that kind of early?” Jason laid his hand on her knee.

“Well, my dad will want to meet you, and my mom has a new camera, so there will be lots of pictures.”

She took one hand off the wheel, laid it on top Jason’s. Smiling she slid his hand up her thigh. “I really like you, a lot.”

“Oh, is this third base?”

Karen laughed and patted his hand. “Silly boy, you’re going to be an MVP.”