She put her finger on my lips to shut me up. She looked me in the eye as she unfastened my pants. I was in shock and didn’t try to stop her. When she had them undone, she pulled my pants and boxers down around my ankles, and then pushed me back so that I could sit on the toilet lid. She grabbed a bath towel, folded it, and set it down in front of me. She then kneeled down on the towel, and when she was comfortably situated, she gently stroked me to full arousal.
“Beth,” I croaked out as a whisper.
Her mouth was warm and wet. I could’ve erupted then and there, but Beth was deliberate, and slowly she sucked. I watched the top of her head bob up and down. She took her time and brought me to the brink several times. Somehow, she knew how far she could go, and then eased off. I was ready to explode.
“Beth, please, let me...”
She grinned and quit teasing me. “Beth!” was all I got out when I finally climaxed. It felt like she had drained my entire body of all my fluids through my penis. My breath came in exhausted gasps. What was that? I started to regain my senses and I looked down to find a very contented Beth smiling up at me.
“I’ve wanted to do that ever since you teased me at my house. I remember your gym shorts as you came out of the hot tub leaving nothing to the imagination. If Mom hadn’t been there, I would have had my way with you then. I agree, when we’re both free, we’ll talk. For now, thank you for letting me fulfill one of my fantasies.”
I just nodded as she got up and left. All I could think was ‘wow!’ Who knew that my friend had that in her?
I went back out to the dance floor and Sammie grabbed me for her dance. I’m not big on psychic things, but I suddenly felt the hair go up on the back of my neck go up. Only one thing does that to me: Bill Rogers. I spun around to see Bill and three of his goons all look nervous and almost run out the front door.
“Princess! Jim!” I yelled without even thinking.
I grabbed Suzanne’s hand and the band stopped playing as the two of us ran out onto the patio. We found several people crowded by the side of the pool house. I plowed through as I dragged Suzanne with me. We found Tracy seated next to Jim who was in a fetal position. It seemed obvious that Bill and his crew had beaten Jim. Suzanne rushed in and bumped Tracy out of the way so that she could check on her brother.
“Beth! Call 911! We need an ambulance!” I yelled.
I noticed that Tracy had a dazed look and was bleeding from her lip and nose. Her blouse was ripped, exposing her left breast. I quickly took my shirt off and put it on her. It was like dressing a rag doll. She had a faraway glazed look and I could tell she was deeply shaken. I sat her down next to the wall so I could check Jim.
Jim was unconscious. His hands were a mess. He obviously put up a good fight trying to protect Tracy. I unbuttoned Jim’s shirt and saw the red marks on his stomach, side and back. They had kicked him when he was down. I quickly checked to see if anything was life-threatening. Jim didn’t seem to be in immediate danger, so I got some crowd control in place. Magic had arrived with Kevin and Luke.
“You guys get the crowd back. See if someone can get clean towels, a bowl of warm water and a wash cloth,” I said.
Suzanne sobbed when she saw the condition her brother was in. She tried to comfort Jim, who was now moaning. I was encouraged by his moans, but concerned he wasn’t responsive. She was in near-hysterics.
“Princess, look at me,” I said to get her attention.
She looked up.
“He’s going to be okay. Keep him calm and do not let him move until the paramedics get here. He might have back or neck injuries from where they kicked him.”
I switched to Tracy. She had a nasty gash on the back of her head. Cindy showed up with the towels. I had her take one of the towels and apply pressure to the back of Tracy’s head. Tracy also had a nasty welt under one eye and her nose and lip were bleeding.
“Tracy, can you tell me what happened?”
“Ghhhaa, my head hurts.”
“Baby, look at me, what happened?”
“Goddam Bill.”
She slurred her words and was either drunk, high, or had a head injury. She seemed to have a hard time focusing.
I grabbed my cell phone and called Tracy’s parents, and Mary answered.
“Hey, Mary, is Tom there?”
“What’s wrong?”
She must be hearing the strain in my voice.
“Please get Tom on the other line.”
“Tom, pick up the phone, it’s David,” she called.
I heard Tom pick up. I started to talk before he could say anything.
“Tracy and her date were beaten by Bill Rogers and his goons. Tracy has a head laceration. Her date was beaten unconscious, and it looks like they kicked the shit out of him once he was down.”
Tom was all business.
“Did you call the paramedics?”
“Yes. They should be here shortly.”
“Is this at the house down the street?”
“Yes, the one at the end of that short cul-de-sac.”
“Okay, I’ll be there shortly.”
I broke the connection. I turned to Cindy.
“Do you know Suzanne’s home number?”
She gave it to me as I dialed.
“Mr. Ball, this is David Dawson.”
He seemed happy to hear from me.
“David, I’ve watched you play. What can I do for you?”
“I’m at the band party and I’m with Jim and Suzanne. Jim and his date were beaten tonight and we’ve called an ambulance. It looks like he’s going to be okay, but he was knocked unconscious. He should be at the emergency room in 10 to 15 minutes.”
I got lucky and the second dad of the night was all business.
“Okay, can you see that Suzanne gets a ride?”
“I’ll have Cindy take her and they’ll meet you there and give you the details.”
He hung up. The ambulances showed up and the paramedics took over. I took Cindy aside.
“Hey, I hate to dump this on you, but can you take Suzanne to the hospital?”
“Of course. Aren’t you coming?”
“Of course I am.”
She clutched me and started to cry. I let her cry for a moment and then pulled her away.
“You have to be strong for Suzanne. You’re her rock, and she needs that right now.”
The paramedics quickly loaded Tracy and Jim. Tom and Mary followed them to the hospital.
I walked over to Beth and Gary.
“The police will be here once the paramedics radio in what they found. We need to do some damage control quickly. We’ve been serving alcohol to underage drinkers,” Beth told Gary.
Gary realized the problem.
“Shit,” he said.
He gathered up the party crew and had them going around with garbage bags, cleaning up. He had another group breaking down the bar.
“David, go make sure that the valets aren’t giving out any keys to anyone that’s even close to being drunk,” Beth directed me.
“I’m going with Cindy and Suzanne to the hospital. If you need me, call,” I said.
Beth hugged me and I promised to call her once I got any news. On the way out one of the party crew gave me a t-shirt from the event to wear. I got the girls together and we left. Cindy was arguing with the valet. I had told them what Beth had said, and they were checking everyone before they gave them keys. I got Cindy’s keys and promised I would drive. I drove half a block and then switched back with Cindy.
My record for parties was dismal. The last two had ended with someone being carted out by paramedics. I was sure I wouldn’t be on anyone’s guest list anytime soon.
MY GRANDMA WAS BORN at Regional General Hospital. It looked like a gothic mansion with modern wings added on. It had to be ugliest hospital in the state. We parked and entered the emergency room. It was straight from the 1930s, with subway tile lining the walls and old-style lighting. It felt like you were walking into a Steven King story. Even though the building was in poor shape, the quality of care was top-notch.
Suzanne went to the desk to find out where her brother was, and the receptionist directed her into the family-only waiting room. She grabbed Cindy and my hands and pulled us through. When the guard tried to stop us, she told him we were family. From the look on her face, the guard just let us through.