Taking It All Page 5

  Leon listened to her talk, Jade's passion almost infectious.

  "So, when it came time to go to college, I, of course, picked a creative writing major. My parents didn't care for this one bit, of course; they thought I should've picked a major that had a little more of a payoff at the end."

  "And you just did whatever you wanted anyway," said Leon. "That's…a little respectable."

  "Thanks, I think," said Jade. "But I can't help but wonder if they're right. My older sister went for a degree in marketing or something and she walked right into a six-figure job in Chicago. I've probably got a lot of latte-making ahead of me while I try and put some kind of a career together."

  Leon chuckled.

  "At least you're being realistic," he said.

  "OK," said Jade, "that's enough about me. I think it's your turn."

  "Fair enough," said Leon. "I live with my parents and my little brother –he's nine- and I go to school for business."

  "Business, huh?" asked Jade. "Why that?"

  "To put it delicately, I've been something of an entrepreneur for the last decade of my life."

  Jade opened her mouth to speak, but Leon could see that she understood right away what being an "entrepreneur" in his part of town likely meant.

  "And over the years, I learned that I had something of a knack for running a business. I can run the numbers, I can manage the personalities, and I'm pretty good at putting deals together. It's all kind of fun for me, actually."

  "What do you want to do when you graduate?"

  "Get the hell out of this city and make a lot of money somewhere."

  "Someone's focused," said jade with a half-smile.

  "Trust me," said Leon, "when you've been living like I have, your plans all revolve around getting the hell out and figuring the rest later."

  "Couldn't you go to some other school?" Jade asked. "I mean, this isn't the only college in the world."

  "No way I'd leave my little brother alone," he said. "Not-"

  He stopped himself, realizing that he didn't want to get into his tumultuous family life with this girl he barely knew. And as they'd talked, the sun had dipped down even further beneath the horizon. Soon it'd be dark.

  "We should get back," said Leon, getting up. "It's getting late."

  "Oh," said Jade, apparently noticing how abruptly Leon cut himself off. "Sure."

  "The way down's a lot easier than the way up," said Leon. "Come with me."

  The two of them scaled down the drop-off, and soon they were back at Leon's bike. Jade told him where the apartment that she lived was located, and soon they were off. During the drive, Leon chastised himself for nearly blabbing about his home life to this girl; he knew how important it was to keep things close to the chest, and letting people in on your personal secrets was an easy way to unnecessarily expose oneself.

  Soon, they arrived at the student apartments where Jade lived. Jade climbed off the bike and turned to Leon.

  "Um, thanks," she said. "For everything."

  "Don't mention it," said Leon. "Just don't let me see you around my neighborhood again. For your own good."

  Jade let out a little snort.

  "You're kind of an asshole, you know that?" she said, a little smirk betraying her true feelings on the matter.

  "Wouldn't be alive if I weren't," said Leon.

  Then he gunned the engine and was off. Looking in the rearview mirror, he caught a glimpse of Jade watching him as he tore down the road; she was still there as he turned the corner and drove out of sight.

  Stupid girl, he thought. No idea what kind of shit she's messing with; thinks this is all some game. I should've done a better job scaring her off.

  But despite his annoyance with Jade, he couldn't help but have a soft spot for how she seemed to be genuinely moved by what she'd seen. Leon had known –and dated- enough girls from pampered upbringings to know that plenty of them liked to talk the big talk about feeling sorry for the impoverished but would scrunch their noses in disgust the moment a homeless person came within ten feet of them.

  Her courage was a little admirable, as well. He thought about how she seemed to stroll through his neighborhood with a sense of purpose, eager to get whatever material she needed. Sure, she seemed about as out of place as a fish on top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, but Leon got the sense that she could find her footing if she needed to. And he didn't have to do much prodding for her to climb the cliff side. He'd taken a couple of girls to that spot before who wouldn't even try it; Jade seemed ready for anything.

  Still, he thought, she needs to know that this isn't a goddam place for clueless rich girls. Hopefully, she got the message.

  Leon pulled up to his house and noticed right away just how eerily quiet things were. Walking into through the front door, he noticed at once the sight of his father passed out on the couch and the strong smell of whiskey in the air. Looking around, he spotted a dirty brown stain on the wall, a pile of broken glass underneath it.

  Threw a fucking whiskey bottle, thought Leon. What a goddamned barbarian.

  He checked his phone and saw that it was only a little after eight.

  At least he's passed out good and early, thought Leon.

  Leon flicked off the TV and looked around for any sign of the rest of his family. He couldn't find his mother, and the door to Hunter's room was locked. Leon gave it a rap.

  "Who is it?" came the fearful voice on the other side.

  "Big bro," said Leon.

  There was a moment of silence before the door unlocked and opened. Leon gasped when he laid eyes on the smashed TV screen in front of him.

  "What the hell happened?" asked Leon, looking over the mess.

  "Dad was drunk," said Hunter. "Again. He was pissed that I was playing Minecraft; he said that I should be out talking to girls or something, said he didn't want his son to turn into a ‘goddamn nerd'."

  "Christ," said Leon.

  "Can I stay in your room tonight?" asked Hunter.

  "Where's Mom?" asked Leon.

  "I don't know," said Hunter. "She grabbed her things and ran off while Dad was throwing his fit. She won't answer her phone."

  "Probably ran off to Aunt Annie's," said Leon. "She should've taken you with her."

  "She left before I could say anything," said Hunter.

  "Fucking assholes," said Leon under his breath as he shook his head. "Yeah, bud; you can stay with me. I'll let you use my laptop. We'll get you a new TV tomorrow."

  "Really?" said Hunter. "Thanks, Leon."

  "No problem, bud."

  The two of them walked carefully to Leon's bedroom, making sure to not wake up their dad. Once there, Leon locked the door and gave Hunter his laptop to play on while he did his homework. Once bedtime rolled around, Leo gave Hunter his bed while he made a little spot for himself on the floor. It wasn't the first time Leon had been forced to let his brother hide out with him, and he knew it wouldn't be the last. And as he drifted off to sleep, against his better wishes, his last thoughts were of Jade, the strange girl that he just couldn't get out of his mind.

  Chapter Five

  And the feeling was mutual. The next day at school, Jade couldn't stop thinking about her evening with Leon. She found herself picturing the incredible view from the top of the cliff, thinking about how oddly free she felt, how far from any of her daily concerns she was sitting there, just her and Leon.

  But she knew that it was all in the context of being saved from a very stupid decision. Jade knew Leon was right, that heading down to his part of town could've turned out very, very badly for her. But the thrill had made her feel more alive than she had in as long as she could remember. She realized that she'd gotten so into her routine of school and studying that she'd forgotten that there was a whole world out there for her. Between the journey through the dangerous part of the city and the trip to the top of the cliff, she realized she'd awoken something in her that she didn't know was there – she now had a taste for thrills.

  The time in he
r classes dragged by at an impossibly slow pace, and all Jade could think about was what her next thrill could be, peppered with thoughts about Leon. She felt like a little kid.

  I could go down to Leon's neighborhood again, she thought as she sat impatiently in her Western Civ class. But Leon didn't seem like he was screwing around when he said that I shouldn't go back there. So maybe that's not a good idea.

  But she couldn't think of any other way to get the thrill she was looking for.

  As soon as her classes were done for the day, Jade grabbed her laptop from her dorm room, found a quiet spot in the quad, and sat down to write her assignment for Creative Non-Fiction. As soon as she started typing the words seemed to just flow from her fingers, as though she were tapping into some otherworldly creative energy. She wrote about her journey through Leon's neighborhood and the sights she encountered there. Jade couldn't help but smile as she wrote about Leon, taking pleasure in describing the stunningly-handsome man she met who served as her guide through the rough part of town. And when she finished it all off with the trip to the cliff side, Jade felt as though she'd just finished about the best thing she'd ever written.

  "Damn, girl," said Katie from behind Jade. "You're writing like a madwoman."

  Jade spun around so fast that her computer almost fell off her lap.

  "Ohmigod," she said, seeing that Katie was standing right behind her. "I didn't see you there."

  "And you probably wouldn't have if I didn't say anything," she said. "You were, like, totally in the zone."

  All Jade had left to type were two final words –"The End"- and as soon as she did she closed her laptop feeling great about the work she'd just finished.

  "You were totally right about what you said the other day," said Jade, speaking through a beaming smile. "I went down to some sketchy neighborhood and it was just what I needed to get rid of my writer's block."

  "Oh really?" asked Katie, taking a seat beside Jade, a crowd of bustling students making their way through the quad in front of them. "I'm kind of surprised, actually."

  "Really?"

  "Yeah," said Katie. "I would've bet, like, any amount of money that you were gonna chicken out. No offense, but you're not exactly the type I imagine flirting with danger like that."

  "Well," said Jade, "normally, you'd be right. But once I got out there…I don't know. It was like I saw for the first time just what a sheltered life I've lived. And…"

  Katie's eyebrows raised.

  "I know exactly what an ‘and…' like that means," she said. "So spill it."

  "Well, so when I was there I almost walked into the middle of a drug deal in progress between these two gangs, and-"

  "Whoa, whoa," said Katie, holding up her hands. "You what?"

  "I'll get to that, but one of the guys there was just about the hottest guy that I'd ever seen. And he must've noticed me there, because…"

  Jade went through the events of her two trips through Leon's neighborhood, giving Katie all of the important details.

  "You met some hood dude and you're head over heels?" said Katie, seeming to not believe the words as she spoke them. "Just when I thought this story couldn't get any more insane…"

  "But he's not some sketchy hood dude," said Jade. "He's, like, a normal guy."

  "A normal guy who's a drug dealer," said Katie.

  "Well, yeah," said Jade, not sure how to respond. "But he's trying to get out of that shitty neighborhood; he's even a student here."

  An uncomfortable expression crossed Katie's face.

  "What?" asked Jade, sensing that something was amiss.

  "I mean, I don't know," said Katie. "I'm glad that you're, I guess, expanding your horizons and stuff, but going out with low-life guys that like is just a bad idea, lady. It's one thing to take a little field trip to the bad parts of town and get some inspiration, but, well…"

  She trailed off, and Jade knew that she had more to say.

  "Spill it," said Jade.

  "Well, it's just that girls like us shouldn't be hanging out with guys like that."

  "What do you mean, ‘girls like us'?" asked Jade.

  "You know exactly what I mean," said Katie. "I mean, I know you're a creative writing major and probably going to be diving into, like, vaults full of gold coins any time soon, but you should still be looking for, you know, particular kinds of guys."

  "But this guy's a student here; he's going to school for business."

  "And that's great for him," said Katie. "But guys like that –and trust me, I've known a few- they're always going to have a little bit of the ghetto in them. And that's assuming he doesn't have to drop out because he got arrested or something."

  But before Jade could say another word, a familiar figure appeared in the corner of her eye. Turning her head slightly, she saw that it was none other than Leon. He was dressed in a pair of well-fitting jeans and a t-shirt that clung tightly enough to his body to show off his defined pecs. A sharp black military-style jacket finished the look. Jade found her eyes lingering on him as he strolled through the quad, her mouth hung open just a bit.

  "Oh God," said Katie. "Is that him?"

  "Mhmm," said Jade, hardly able to hold a thought in her head.

  "Well, he's hot as shit, I'll give you that," said Katie.

  Moments later Leon disappeared down the opposite side of the quad that he'd emerged from, Jade and Katie watching him all the while.

  "But still," said Katie, speaking as though she'd just been snapped out of a trance. "You shouldn't fuck around with guys like that. Unless you wanna be some thug's baby mama."

  "I'm not stupid," said Jade, "I'm not gonna do anything dumb like that.

  "You say that now," said Katie, "but that look in your eyes is saying something totally different."

  "I gotta, um, get to class," said Jade, hurriedly shoving her laptop into her bag and getting up.

  "You better not be doing what I think you're doing," said Katie, a scolding tone to her voice.

  "I'm not!" shouted Jade as she rushed off, her heart pounding just as it had the day before when she was with Leon.

  What the hell am I doing? thought Jade as she hurried down one of the wide sidewalks of the quad, her heart still racing. Am I really going to track down Leon or something?

  Rushing through an arched tunnel in the direction that Leon went, Jade heard Katie's warning repeat in her head.

  I mean, I'm not gonna date the guy or anything, she told herself as she briskly walked. I'm just gonna see if he has any, um, recommendations for where I should check out next. I mean, he knew all about the awesome view up on that cliff; he's gotta know another place I can go. And plus, I bet he'd be happy that I'm not planning on going back to his neighborhood. He'll probably be relieved, actually.

  Jade made her way up a curved path through the deep green of the campus grass. Once she reached the top of a small hill, she looked around for any sign of Leon, but couldn't spot him anywhere. Finally, after a moment or two of looking, she caught a glimpse of his familiar figure stepping in through the tall, stately front doors of the business school building.

  See? she thought, he's going to class; he's trying to make something of himself. He's not some stupid thug like Katie thinks he is.

  Jade looked around for a place to sit, settling on a nearby bench that allowed for a good vantage point of the doors that Leon had entered. There, she decided to wait until Leon came out so she could talk to him again.

  Wait, she thought, slipping her laptop out of her bag, am I stalking him or something?

  She felt a tinge of panic grip her.

  No, she told herself, I'm just getting some work done in the area where his building happens to be. And if I see him and get a chance to ask him about some other cool places to check out, so be it. Nothing weird about this. I mean, we do go to the same school and everything.

  Satisfied with her justification, Jade set to work on her writing assignment. Just as before, the words flowed from her fingertips as soon as sh
e thought back to her time with Leon. An hour later, a thousand words were typed as though it were nothing, and as Jade looked back over what she'd written, she realized that these were the best sentences that she'd ever put to paper.

  Did I actually write this? she asked herself, looking over her work. This is crazy.

  Before she could think too much about it, the large doors of the business building opened and a group of students poured out. Jade's eyes focused on the crowd, looking for that familiar sight of Leon's blonde hair. After a moment, she spotted him, her heart singing as she did.

  Here goes nothing, she thought, putting her laptop back into her bag and starting off. Jade weaved through the crowd of students, eventually coming up behind Leon. She looked at the back of his head for a moment, still debating if she should get his attention.

  Maybe Katie's right? she thought. This is my last chance to just leave the whole thing be.

  But before she could consider the matter further, her hand shot out and tapped Leon's left shoulder. He stopped and turned around slowly, a mildly irritated expression on his face. Once he realized that it was Jade trying to get his attention, his eyes went wide with disbelief, the sun catching his baby blues in a way that Jade found irresistible.

  "You?" he asked. "What do you think you're doing?"

  "I'm, um, trying to get your attention," said Jade, suddenly feeling very silly, the crowd of students still moving around them.

  "Clearly," said Leon. "But what do you want? I thought this was all done."

  "What do you mean?" asked Jade.

  "I figured that what we did last night was enough ‘material' for whatever assignment you had. But here you are, talking to me again."

  Fuck, fuck, thought Jade, maybe this was a bad idea.

  She craned her neck to look up at Leon.

  Damn, he's tall, she thought.

  "I just thought, I don't know, that maybe you could show me some other cool place in the city that I hadn't seen before."

  "And why would I want to do that?"

  "I don't know," said Jade. "It's just that going through your part of town, then going to that place with the amazing view, and having to climb to get up there…it was really fun, that's all."