The Misbegotten

[It takes him less time than he’d envisioned locating the spot where he had “paused” the Delving software. He is amazed at how easy it is to use the program. ExTech had outdone itself this time around. He quickly restarts the process. In a fraction of a second, his is, once more, transported back more than three and a half centuries. He remembers an exclamation. His fingers begin to fly across the ghostly keys dangling in the air before him.]

“Mother fuck, what the hell took you guys so long!” exclaimed Jacob moments after he’d recovered from nearly pulverizing the front doors.

I had saved them by about a Hare’s breath.

“What the fuck? Were you both counting your pewbes or something? That was like forever!”

“Calm down, dickweed,” I chastised him, frowning. “I told you things with Katie were rough at best. She was having a tough go of it. So back the hell up!” I countered with the intent of throwing him off kilter by the harshness of my words. “What’s wrong with you? Damn, Jake, don’t you pay attention to anything people say to you?”

That seemed to forestall him as he edged back, away from me, a sour look on his face. He always looked like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, in situations such as this.

Behind him, Ramona craned her head to get a look at me and the scene beyond. She had a small crease between her eyebrows.

I smiled at her, over my Cousin Jacob’s shoulder. Her eyes caught mine. I hoped my grin would be enough to calm whatever anxiety she might have experienced. I knew Katie and I had made them wait too long. It was suspicious, even to me.

Her eyes opened wider when Katie came forth, into the bright sunlight of the day, dressed casual, feet still bare. My other cousin was stunning. Even without make-up (which she never needed) or having run a comb through her hair, she was still her mother’s daughter.

Her short nap and our brief tussle had mussed it to one side. It seemed like she’d run her fingers through it a few times to straighten it out.

Ramona eyes came to rest on mine. She searched my face for a few seconds. Her anxiousness skewed toward misgiving. It was like she was trying not to be jealous. She knew she had no grounds to feel that way, but couldn’t help it. Somehow the situation warranted it.

I’d hoped our cover wasn’t blown. I did not want her to see or have any hint that I’d just made out with Katie. I was desperate for her to not get that impression. I knew if they hadn’t been there, on my doorstep, I’d be making love to my cousin. Even if they’d come later, it still would’ve happened. I wanted to make sure she had no clue.

But how?

“Hey, you guys, how have ya’all been?” asked Katie with the southern cheer she’d picked up living in Oklahoma. Her amiable tone sliced through the growing tension like a samurai long sword.

Maybe it was enough to save my bacon.

“Damn, Katie, you look fine as ever.” Jacob’s way of saying hello, I guess.

Fucking tool!

“Hi, Katie,” managed Ramona through a calm veneer. It was obvious she was trying to keep other thoughts from of her mind. “What took the two of you so long? We were kinda waiting out here a while.” She asked the question of Katie, but her eyes fell back on me.

I swore I could already see a slight bit of accusation in them. If there was one thing Ramona could sniff out faster than a dog turd, it was when something passing between two people. She had a special sense, even back then. One that I’d come to count on over the years. One that has saved our lives countless times…

“Sorry about that, that was my fault, I was on the phone with my mother. She wouldn’t let me get off. You know, badgering me about all the bullshit of the past week and shit. But, I didn’t want Estefan, to leave either, because… well, because there are just some things I don’t want to face alone right now.” Katie was playing into the comment I had made to Jacob earlier. It was a beautiful ploy.

I could already see he’d accepted the excuse by the look on his face. Besides, he was already so blinded by lust for my cousin, he would’ve believed anything she said. The moon wasn't rock but a huge block of cheese. The Cubs¹ won the World Series. He would’ve nodded like an idiot, his eyes glued to her ass.

It was Ramona that kept glancing back and forth, the cast of her face unchanged. She hadn’t believed – in full – what Katie had said.

“Well, that’s Steve for you. He’s always willing to lend a helping hand.” She hadn’t meant that as a compliment. I knew that at once.

Katie seemed to recognize for what it was and changed the subject. “Come one in, you guys, the TV’s on and Aunt Patrice left us a ton of money. We can order some food and chill.” She motioned for them to enter.

She and I stepped out of the way to let them enter the house. Right before Jacob crossed the threshold and passed between us, Katie rolled her eyes at me and shook her head subtle. With such alacrity, only I could discern her annoyance with my girlfriend. Then, she turned and followed Jacob inside.

Ramona came right toward me, putting her finger in my chest at first, but then reconsidered her tactics. She eased the tensions from her body and placed her hand over my pounding heart. “We have to talk, Eff,” she whispered. She placed that same hand over my lips when I made to say something. “Not now, my love, later. Then, you can tell me the truth about what was going on in here.”

I was about to protest even louder, but again she cut me off.

“Not now, Estefan! We’ll do it later. I might seem jealous and conniving at times, but I am respectful as well. She is your family, so there will be no big blowouts or nasty scenes today. I promise.”

Who the fuck was this girl? I had asked myself looking down at her from a newfound vantage.

Then, she leaned forward and kissed me on the lips! What the fuck? She didn’t have to tilt her head back or stand on her tiptoes. Ramona was only an inch or two shorter than my five-foot-nine inch frame. She came forward and planted a good one on me. “Uhmmm, sooo sweet,” she muttered when she pulled back a few seconds later. “Who would’ve ever imagined my boyfriend with lips that taste like a girl’s?” Her expression was coy, but the look didn’t match her eyes.

I knew that she knew! She caught me. I hadn’t even cleared the gate yet.

Katie was right; this was going to be a lot harder than anything I have ever tried before.

Ramona stepped away and walked into the house.

I followed, watching her round ass sway back and forth beneath the tight fitting; strapless summer dress she wore. The floral print was yellow and somewhat blinding in the sunlight. She walked from side to side on the balls of her feet, her Nike speed trainers radiant and spotless. Her gait made her middle-of-the-back, wavy, dark brown hair swoosh to the right, then to the left. She was being seductive, trying to get me to notice her. I always noticed her when she did that.

Ramona was fun to look at with her voluptuous figure, blue-gray eyes flecked with black and her feminine carriage. She wasn’t as natural in beautiful as Katie. But, she was deft with her make-up. She never put on too little or too much, but just the right amount. She always styled her hair in the latest fashion, giving one the impression she might be a model. But her luscious curves were way too much for those tall, emaciating creatures walking the runways of the old world. She didn’t have the athletic body that Katie possessed. (This despite the fact Katie hadn’t gone near any type of physical activity aside from sex in many years). Rather, Ramona had the body, at sixteen, which most women twice her age would grow into. And, of course, she knew how to use it. Boy, did she ever!

It had taken Ramona two seconds to get my attention the year before. Tirza had left me in the lurch with nothing but disgust and frustration in her wake. It had been almost three weeks after the said dumping. I was pretty bummed out about having to whack off in the shower instead blowing my load into sweet little Tirza. I had been deliberately dawdling through the halls of my High School. I meandered, tragic and lost in thought when I had met Ramona.

Now, I know I said I met her, but to recant this little tale with any degree of truth, I must tweak the words a bit. I must say, on that particular day, it was more of an “encounter” with Ramona, than an actual “meeting”.

*****

[He switches memory paths. A new, very familiar scene unfolds. He smiles. This is a good one.]

The crowds were still thick on the second floor of the school on that fall day. It was during the first semester of my sophomore year. I was stopping here and there making brief conversations with friends and acquaintances. I was not too keen on making it to my photography class on time.

I was somewhat popular already, though I wasn’t at the pinnacle of the “school fame” I would come to enjoy later. I had made good progress, though, in the two short months I attended Benjamin Franklin High School. This was an institute tucked in the northeastern corner of what used to be Los Angeles. It was one of the “old schools”, a member of the founding five built in the early years of the city.

I had just begun the second-to-last complete year of formal schooling I would receive for the rest of my life. You see, I never graduated. Funny, isn’t it? I’m over three hundred and eighty years old and I don’t even have a High School Diploma.

But, I’ll get to that later.

At the time, on that day, I was seeing my friends from every of my affiliated cliques. Since I didn’t just hang out with one group of kids, I had many greetings to dole out. I was walking down the hall, gabbing away when, of a sudden, one of the classroom doors swung open, right where I was walking.

It flew so fast around, if I hadn’t brought up my hand when I had, it would’ve bashed me right in the face. I stopped the door and moved to the aside at the same time, grateful my brained weren't dashed by the door. I had just enough time to see a blurred figure move right across my path, so quick I could only discern the figure was female. There was little I could do to avoid bumping into her.

In the instant, it registered it was a girl before me; I felt her hand cup all my junk – the frank and the beans! Then, she whispered into my ear just as our bodies came together…

“…I think you’re cute….”

I gasped with shock.

Now, I will admit, I’d been porking little bitches in my neighborhood since I was fourteen. But this was still the most erotic thing to have happened to me up to that point in my life. As fast as light, I felt the blood rush into my penis. It was so fast it clouded my ability to think. It seemed to drain the blood from my head. By the time I had recovered, she was gone. The halls were emptying out and the tardy bell was moments from ringing.

I stood there, groped, having enjoyed it, wondering who the fuck had just done that to me. And… what the fuck was I going to do about it!?

Then, I realized I hadn’t even seen her face. A weird sort of chill descended upon me, settling on my shoulders. I continued to swivel at the waist looking around for answers that wouldn’t come. I mean, I couldn’t go around saying I was just molested, because I had liked it big-time. I’d look like a complete idiot.

I was still weighing my options in my head when I happened to glance down and saw one of the biggest, hardest erections I’d had in long time. The fucking beast was tenting my jeans like the big-top at the Ringling Brothers Circus². Holy flag poles, Batman! I thought as I covered my hard-on with my folder and scurried to class.

It just happened to be one the floor above me and all the way across building. It was in one the tertiary wings, making the trip even farther away. I had to wobble the entire way there.

Of course, the tardy bell rang. I was late. An occurrence so rare for me, my photography teacher just grunted when I came in through the door of his classroom. He let me off the hook, not because he favored me in any way. It was more likely due to the fact I had a decent eye for pictures. He often told me so. He liked my photos more than he liked me. I guess that’s why he didn’t punish me in any way. If he had, though, I wouldn’t have cared. My mind was on the tall, leggy girl who had grabbed my package as she told me I was cute. This was something I would have to look into!

As it turned out, I didn’t have to look all that much. It was two weeks later when she approached me in the flesh - all foolery aside. I was walking over the breezeway that straddled Avenue 54.

[He taps his way onto another memory string.]

I was beginning my long journey home after a particularly difficult training session with the middle-distance track team. I was new member back then and was still trying to find my place within a group of guys that had already been together for a few years. They didn’t warm to newcomers and were making me prove myself. One had to show success during a meet, in the heat of competition, before they’d show respect. It was too early in the year. We hadn’t had any meets yet. So, I was still the odd man out.

It was late afternoon. I felt tired, feeling a little overworked, dreading the mile and a half walk I had ahead of me. I was walking over the suspended walkway built over Avenue 54. It connected the two city blocks comprising my school. I came out of my disheartened thoughts when I saw two girls I didn’t know stepping toward me. Both of whom were pretty in their way.

I had reached the middle of the small bridge. I realized they were walking fast, bouncing on the balls of their feet. They came much swifter than most girls cared to walk. They seemed on some sort of mission.

I remember walking more to the right, so I could pass them by without impeding their progress. Only they would have none of it and moved to intercept my path. They had come to talk to me… at least… I hoped.

As they came nearer, they slowed, breathing heavy as if they had been striding for some distance.

I stopped.

They stopped, before me. Both of them stared up at me.

I frowned before I could mask the expression. My first thought was they were somehow pissed off at me and were going to do something weird, or rude. But then, I realized their countenances betrayed a different sort of intent altogether. They weren’t hostile.

I let my face soften. I glanced back and forth at them as they caught their wind. One of them placed her hand just above her breasts where her cleavage began as she heaved.

What the hell, ladies, why so eager? I had mused in silence. With delight, I made my initial impression of them, concluding they were complete opposites.

One was tall, only a few inches shorter than me and athletic. She had dark features, was strong-limbed and sported the ubiquitous mid-length, wavy Latina hair. She had dyed it a translucent russet, so it shone even in the late afternoon sun. She had light brown eyes, matching her hair to-a-tee. This was most likely why she dyed it that way to begin with. She had an aquiline face, narrow with a v-shaped chin. Her facial features sided on tiny, maybe delicate even – thin lips, small nose and dainty cheekbones.

The other was petite and girlish. She had piercing eyes and beautiful skin. Her face she framed with long, straight hair - the type that takes about an hour to brush out before it is free of tangles. Her complexion was pale when compared to her friends’. This was offset by her dark, dark-brown eyes and almost jet-black hair. She wore it parted down the middle with bangs cut in a modern version of classic Cleopatra.

Both dressed in very, very tight jeans (a fad that had recently come back with a vengeance). They had on loose fitting blouses over matching spaghetti strapped tank tops. They wore a large assortment of bracelets, necklaces and earrings. They would've given the 1980’s Madonna³ a run for her money.

Over time, I have come to an understanding over why Ramona picked these two girls in particular. They were a complete contrast of allure. They were disarming, would have made any guy let down his guard. I realized much later, she had used them to butter me up for the main course.

I never knew this to be the absolute truth. And, I’ve never asked her about it. Maybe I should. It would be a funny tale now, after the way things turned out.

Nevertheless, a few awkward moments passed.

The taller girl became all smiles and apologies.

The smaller one just stared at me, unmoving.

I smiled right back. I fumbled with the typical, “Oh, it’s ok” reply us guys say when we want to come across as nice to the ladies. All I was thinking was maybe, just maybe, my luck with females had just turned for the better. Maybe there wouldn’t be too many more times I’d have to lather up the ole’ right hand with more Jergen’s4 than I needed. Maybe I wouldn’t have to stroke my shaft with ferocious vigor every other day to relieve some of the pressure building up in my balls. Maybe one of these girls could help with that.

Maybe… A young man can have hope, right?

A few weird seconds of discomfort and uncertainty came next.

I followed my “it’s ok” with what any guy my age would’ve said when confronted by two hotties. “Uh, hi…”

“Hey,” said the tall one with the wondrous body. “My name is Sandra Fernandez… well, Sandy, everyone calls me, Sandy.” She exhaled, sharp, giving me a quick wave of her hand.

It astounded me to think she might be nervous to introduce herself to me. Really, why?

“Cool…, Sandy. I’m Estefan. Estefan Ernando.” I blushed for no reason, blurting, and “I know it kinda rhymes. It’s stupid. Everyone just calls me Effy or Eff.” I extended my hand in a formal way. The way my mom, my many aunties and my crazy, shit-talking granny taught me to do in a situation like this.

She reached for my hand immediately, her face erupting with a large and sincere smile. It lit up her face at once. Our hands clasped, and she giggled. “Nice to meet you,” she said as our hands bobbed up and down. Her hands were soft and warm.

I could tell you, in that moment, I decided she was cool people. I could see, if we spent the time and the effort, we could become good friends.

Our eyes locked above our handshake, and she seemed to stiffen as she took an equal amount of notice of me. We both seemed to freeze within our own brains. We shared a funny, crooked smile.

Then, “Well, hey… my name is Leda Quintanilla,” said the tiny girl. She peered straight into my eyes.

I turned toward her.

Her dark, luminous orbs were more serious and direct than those of her friend. She extended her hand toward me. It was an elegant match to her graceful form.

I reached for her hand and grasped it, firm. “Oh, Leda, ok, hi. It’s very nice to meet you.” Her hand was stiff and dry. There was nothing friendly about her approach to me. I tried to give her a warm smile, to put her at ease, you know, let things flow.

It bounced off her with little effect. She was as solid as stone. I could tell underneath her cool exterior, there was an complex a person roiling underneath. I had no idea how true my initial assessment of the girl would prove as the years passed.

“So…,” I ventured, letting my hand fall from Leda’s the moment she stopped gripping me.

For some reason, she raised an eyebrow at me. Her eyes filled with wary curiosity.

“How can I help you girls?”

For some reason that made Sandy giggle.

Leda turned and hit her solid on the elbow.

“What?” demanded Sandy still smiling through a small frown. She shrugged her shoulders as another bit of mirth bubbled out of her.

“Dude, get a grip,” was all Leda said. She swung back to me all business. Her brow pinched in the middle. She cleared her throat, shifting her weight to her left foot.

I would come to know it was a thing she did when she about to broche a touchy subject.

“Ok, so… we’re kinda here as a favor to someone who - for some reason or another - has suddenly become shy. Which is a bunch of bullshit, I might add.”

I frowned. “So, you’re telling me if it wasn’t for this favor, neither of you would’ve come up to me to say hi?” came my quick question. For some reason, Leda’s unbridled distaste emboldened me. It felt like a challenge of some kind. I couldn’t resist wanting to fight it. I wasn’t sure why, but I do recall she had that effect on me.

“I would have,” blurted Sandy. Then abrupt surprise filled her face. She seemed stunned by the fact she had said something she hadn’t meant to say aloud. Her hand came up to her mouth out of instinct. She touched the lips that had betrayal her.

Leda glanced over at her friend and must’ve seen something I did not. Without warning, she socked the other girl hard on the shoulder.

I felt my smile widen as I continued to look at Sandy. She appeared to ignore Leda blow. Her mind and mine were too busy comprehending the obvious. We, her and I, realized, together, if asked her out right then and there, she would’ve accepted.

A cool shiver went down my spine.

She tried to recover some degree of control, shaking herself hard enough that I could see. Her gaze slid toward Leda.

I watched her gather herself, though her eyes were rounder and blinked at a rapid pace. Without thinking, she rubbed at the upper part of her arm where the smaller girl had punched her.

Sandy likes me! I felt heat radiate throughout my body.

“Did you just sock my ass?” asked the tall teenager, her voice shaky, strained. She was trying to deflect the delicacy of the moment.

“It seemed like you needed it,” replied Leda almost on top of Sandy’s words.

Silence – long and uncomfortable - ensued.

“Anyway,” Leda went on, dismissing Sandy. She went back to what she’d been trying to say in the first place. “A friend of ours would like to meet you. She’s asked us to kinda of introduce her to you. She’s become this shy, quivering little creature over you for some reason. She asked us to come and get you and point her out to you.” She said it monotone as if rehearsed. I could tell she felt gang-pressed. She didn’t want to be there. She didn’t want to talk to me. It was plain to see.

“You didn’t answer my question,” I uttered, a little quieter than before, just for Leda to hear. Her disdain was beginning to grate on my nerves.

Her stare grew colder as she wiggled her small index finger in my general direction. “I think my friend here already answered enough for the both of us.”

“So, you’re saying you would’ve stopped to say, hi,” I countered, feeling a little bold now. Why did she make me rankle so?

She rolled her eyes. “Will you meet my friend or not?” It was obvious she’d had enough of my little game.

She wanted this to be over.

I didn’t, but this back and forth seemed more than a little childish. “Yeah sure, whatever,” I muttered after a seconds’ delay. “Where is your friend?”

Leda sniffed, turning her head to the side. She wasn’t peering in my direction when she replied. “She’s through the tunnel, standing near the railing overlooking the Quad.”

The Quad was an area the four-story, main building of our school surrounded on three sides. A twelve-foot wall enclosed it on the fourth side. Before this wall was a raised platform, which the school used as a staging area for school events. Sometimes the DJ’s for our lunchtime dances set up their equipment there. They blasted the whole area with pyramids of speakers.

From what Leda said, this mystery girl was standing by the railing on the second floor of the main building. This put her on the same level as the breezeway, where it connected to the structure. All I had to do was continue going in the direction I’d been walking and eventually I would rendezvous with her.

I stepped up to Sandy, ignoring the other girl now. Maybe the silent treatment would work. I extended my hand toward her for a second time. “It was nice meeting you, Sandra. Maybe we can find the time to talk in the future?” I worded it like a question to give her the opportunity to answer it in her head first.

She nodded, imperceptive to one not watching close.

I took that as a “yes”. I knew she had made her decision already. She liked me. It was easy to see.

My smile reawakened on my face as we shook hands. A sort of dreamy gladness spread across hers as if she didn’t quite understand what had just occurred. All she could manage was guess it was a good thing.

I walked through them, not looking in Leda’s direction on purpose. I was intent on getting this nonsense over with so I could get home. I was annoyed, because I had done nothing wrong and still the dark, petite beauty didn’t like me. The silent treatment had failed.

I got about five or six steps from them when I heard Leda say, “I’m not sure what she sees in him.”

My only thought was, Bitch!

I shrugged it off and continued on without breaking stride.

A heartbeat later, I heard Sandy’s reply, “Stop being so mean, Leda! He was nice. He was cute. Plus, he smelled good, so I can see what she sees in him. You’re just acting like that because you won’t admit there are still nice guys out there in the world. Not every guy is like the douche-bag you go out with.”

“Shut up, Sandy!” It was the other’s vehement reaction.

“Plus, did you see his smile…?”

I cannot say for sure if Leda harrumphed, but in my mind, it seemed to fit. I remember, in whatever way she may have responded, it made me chuckle.

I walked from the bridge and onto the second floor walkway. I stepped into the passageway that passed through the main building. Beyond it, opened the vista of the Quad.

That was when I saw her. The late afternoon sunlight silhouetted her. The throughway was always darker than the light of the day. The lights within were perpetually dim, though I never knew why. This differentiation of luminance amplified as the day progressed.

She was fifteen years old at the time. Already, she had the well-formed curves of a twenty-year-old. I could see she was wearing pants of some sort, tight-fitting, low-waisted - the expectation in those days.

The half-globes of her ass attracted my eyes within seconds. Even at a distance, with her half-turned from me, I could tell they were firm and uplifted. The kind of ass I had always drooled over whenever I watched porn. Full, globe-like asses always made me masturbate like a mad man. I was fixated on spilling my goo all over a pair of puffy, rounded buns. I dreamed of rubbing the tip of my slippery dick between cheeks like that.

Pure heaven!

She was wearing heels along with those ass-accentuating… jeans? Yes, I could see they were jeans. I could see this the closer I came to her. She also had on a small blazer, ending at the waist, and a white, form-fitting cotton shirt underneath. Her hair she pulled back, gathering it in a Scrunchie, which formed a long ponytail down to the small of her back. I wondered if it would reach her well-formed buttocks if she were to let it down.

I could see the courtyard below. The Quad was empty; it was, after all, just passed 5pm. There was a silence about the place, natural to me during this time of day. Earlier, the halls, even though they were outdoors and open to the world, would’ve been a cacophony of noise. Now, as I walked home from practice, they were quiet. My foot falls made loud echoes. I could almost hear myself breathe.

I was considering what to say to her, when a thought hit me, the puzzling sort. Had all three girls waited this late after school just so they could pull this off? Had they waited so this girl could introduce herself to me? Wasn’t that kind of elaborate, maybe a little much? Why would they wait for almost two hours? Why not do all this tomorrow during nutrition or lunch? Why the secrecy? Why had they wanted this to happen with no one else around? Wasn’t all the scheming just a little too weird?

I never got the chance to answer the question in the proper fashion.

{ ¹The Cubs: were a professional baseball team from Chicago }.

{ ²Ringling Brothers Circus: was an Americancircus company billed as The Greatest Show on Earth. }

{ ³Madonna: born Madonna Louise Ciccone, August 16, 1958. Was an American singer-songwriter, actress, director, dancer and entrepreneur of great renown in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. }

{ 4Jergen’s: Beauty enhancement, Hand Cream. }