Can't Stop the Girl

"Assholes," Annie said as soon as they were gone.

"Yeah, but if you're thinking they stole the toys, Annie, forget it."

"Your mother really did invite me," Annie said, a touch of defense in her voice.

"I know she did," Reggie said. "I also know she's just as broke up as you are about what happened -- so am I, for what it's worth -- and you're probably thinking it was someone from here wanting to get back at the committee for electing her."

"Didn't you just say a lot of them were angry at her?"

"Furious. But remember who they are, Annie. Thou shalt not steal and all that. My mom knows how they think, even if they don't like her very much."

And I know how little of that my family ever took seriously, Annie thought. But it wouldn't do to point that out to Reggie, who she was sure must know it deep down. "I hope you're right," she said, looking around. Then, remembering her resolve not to fall in love with Daryle, she turned back to Reggie. "Anyway, Reggie, I was hoping you and I could spend some time together while I'm here anyway. I figured we'd have time to work on the holiday pageant, but..."

"But you still can, Annie," came Rhonda's voice. "And thank you for coming out tonight."

"Rhonda!" Annie turned to see her just over her right shoulder. She gave the older woman a quick hug, hoping it might scandalize some of the racist parishioners, and then asked, "So you've decided to still have the pageant?"

"I'm more committed than ever," Rhonda said. "We've got to show the haters they won't stop us, and there's still so much to share with the guests. I know we'll still be seeing you at the meeting tomorrow."

"Of course, Rhonda," Annie said. "Honestly, I was hoping the toys would've turned up by now, is all. And since they haven't..."

"Not the toys again, Rhonda?" came another woman's voice on Rhonda's other side, and Annie looked over to see a tall, regal bottle-blonde in tailored pants and a red and green top. "I hate to say I told you so, but..."

"Then don't, Mrs. Hickman!" Reggie said.

"Reggie!" his mother snapped. "Show some respect!" Turning back to Mrs. Hickman, she said, "Yes, you warned us about inviting the wrong kinds of people to our town, Mrs. Hickman, but I might remind you that it wasn't the kids from the slums who stole the toys!"

"Well, we don't know who it was, do we?" Mrs. Hickman replied. "But it was someone who knew how to break into a car without leaving any trace. I don't think you'll find too many of those in Park Meadows."

"Well, in any event, Mrs. Hickman, the pageant is still on. We're going to welcome those children and show them a lovely time, and teach them Christmas isn't just about presents. Surely you would agree with that?"

"I agree with your intentions, Mrs. Greene," Mrs. Hickman said. "But, honestly, didn't you and your family move here to get away from people like that?"

Reggie slammed his coffee cup down on the table and stormed off. Annie turned to go after him.

"Annie, let him go, he needs to be alone," Rhonda said.

"If he does, he can tell me that," Annie said, and she turned and went after him.

He'd found a spot by himself on a couch by the window in the far corner of the center, away from the coffee and the crowds, by a television set that was turned off. "Reggie," Annie said as she sat gingerly beside him on the couch. "Listen, if you want to be alone -- "

"No, you're fine." But he didn't look at her as he said it, keeping his gaze fixed on the snowy parking lot outside the window. "Racist bitch. I don't know why my mother puts up with them all."

"Neither do I, Reggie," Annie said. "What she said was disgusting, but..."

At last he did look at her. "But what, Annie?"

"I don't know," Annie confessed. "I was hoping the right thing would come to me. But...hey, wait a minute. Reggie, she knew the toys were stolen out of the car! And that the thief didn't break a window or anything."

"Aw, what are you, Nancy Drew? So she read it in the paper like everybody else!"

"Are you sure it was in the paper?" Annie hadn't seen any mention of it there, but now it occurred to her that she hadn't followed the news very carefully over the weekend when she'd been on the run.

Reggie gazed straight ahead at the dark television set. "No, I'm not sure," he said. "And I mean, I'd love to be able to assume a racist bitch like Mrs. Hickman did it, but..."

"But maybe she knows who did, don't you think? And it's not just coincidence that she's a racist, of course she'd want to make an excuse for us not to invite any black or Latino kids in from the city!"

"Yeah, sure. But my mom could've told her."

"But do you know if she did?"

"What is it with you, Annie?"

"What it is, is there were already rumors it was someone from here," Annie said. "And yes, you're right, that's why I decided to come down here tonight. But come on, Reggie, don't you want to know who did it?!"

"I'd love to," he admitted. "And I sure wouldn't be sorry if that bitch turned out to be involved. But how do you expect to find out?"

"I'm not sure," Annie confessed. Deep in thought about what her next move ought to be, she turned to look back out at the crowd -- and saw Mrs. Hickman again out of the corner of her eye. She was talking to two younger guys, about Annie's own age and dressed as if for church like most of the others. It was much too loud for Annie to make out a word of what she was saying from across the room, but from the looks on their faces it looked like what Mrs. Hickman was telling them wasn't very nice, or at least that she was upset with them.

Annie turned to draw Reggie's attention to them, and saw that he had also noticed already. "Who are they?" she asked him.

"Paul and Tommy," he said. "Just the kind of smarmy little brats who'd do whatever she told them."

"It doesn't look like they did this time," Annie said. "It looks like she's furious with them!"

"Maybe because she just found out the holiday pageant is still on," Reggie said. "I'll be damned."

"You think they're going to try to do something about it?" Annie asked.

"I'd love to know where they get off to after the coffee anyway," Reggie said.

Minutes later, Annie and Reggie had made their escape with none but Rhonda the wiser that they were going off to catch up somewhere. "Don't keep him out too late, honey," Rhonda told Annie with a knowing smile.

"She probably really means that, you know," Reggie said as they stepped out into the night. "I think my mom thinks I have a crush on you."

"Do you?" Annie was finding her liberation absolutely contagious lately.

"Think I'm going to tell you if I do?" Reggie teased back as he waited for Annie to unlock her car.

"I certainly hope so," she said a touch more seriously, but still feeling playful. "After all, how else would I know?"

"Why'd I want you to know if nothing would ever happen anyway?" Reggie asked.

Annie unlocked the passenger side door and waited until he was settled and the doors shut. Then she turned to him and asked, "Who said nothing would happen?"

Reggie howled with laughter. "You are joking, aren't you?"

"We're both adults, and it's no time of year for anyone to be lonely," Annie said as she started the engine. "And you know, I always did think you were cute." She could barely believe what she was revealing, but she meant every word of it.

"Well, that's a lot to think about," Reggie said. He looked like he was debating just what to do or say next, but before he could say anything, they saw the center doors open and three people stepped out. "It's them, isn't it?" he asked. "Mrs. Hickman, and Paul and Tommy!"

"They're not just going to lead us to the toys," Annie mused. "That'd be too easy, wouldn't it?"

"Only one way to find out," Reggie said. And the matter of who had a crush on whom was on the back burner for the moment as they watched the boys get into the back of Mrs. Hickman's Ford LTD and head off into the night.

Annie had no trouble trailing Mrs. Hickman through the mostly-deserted suburban streets. The chase led her into a corner of Park Meadows she'd never been to before, but it was just as affluent and sprinkled with garish Christmas decorations as any other part of town. "She's taking them home," Reggie said as they turned onto Wayne Avenue.

"You know where she lives?" Annie asked.

"On our block," Reggie said. "That's my house," he added, pointing at a dark split-level that had no decorations. "Mom and Dad won't be back for hours, though. They always go out for a late dinner with some of the other church couples."

Annie let the tacit invitation hang in the air as she watched Mrs. Hickman's car pull into a driveway across the street, before what looked to her like the biggest house on the block. White with green shutters and perfectly groomed evergreens in front, it looked like the sort of place that would surely have a perfectly manicured lawn just waiting to grow out of the snow.

She pulled over and turned off the lights and engine in front of Reggie's house, and they both watched as Mrs. Hickman's garage door opened. To their surprise, she didn't drive the car in. Once it was parked, she and the boys got out of the car and walked into the brightly-lit garage.

"They've got the toys in there!" Annie said. "Think they're going to take them somewhere else?"

"First let's see if the toys really are there," Reggie said. "Let's go."

They both waited a moment for the garage door to close. When it didn't close, they both got out of the car and walked across the street, and crept across the neighboring lawn up to the side of Mrs. Hickman's house. Well before they got there, they could hear her haranguing the boys again, so they were able to get to the garage undetected and flatten themselves against the wall outside. Once that was accomplished, they had a chance to listen in.

"Did you really think you could get away with it?" Mrs. Hickman was bellowing. "In a town like this, did you think word wouldn't get around?!"

"Hey, it was your idea, wasn't it?" said Tommy-or-Paul.

"You knew it was risky!" said the other one.

Annie looked at Reggie, feeling equal parts seething and triumphant -- if only she could get a look in the garage!

"It was my idea to take something that worked from someone who didn't need it!" Mrs. Hickman replied. "Don't make me out to be the bad guy here!"

"No one said you were," said one of the boys. "But we told you --"

"You told me it would work!" Mrs. Hickman raged. "Now we've even got people at church talking about it! You boys know I don't like being the center of attention on these things!"

"What do the people at church care?" snapped the other boy. "It doesn't concern them! Besides, we can still fix it, probably."

"Probably, Tommy?! You'd better fix it, all right. Remember, I could always tell the police about this!"

"So we'll tell 'em it was your idea!" said one of the boys, who Annie guessed was Paul. "Our dad'll back us up on that, and you know he's got friends at the precinct."

"You think your father can get you out of this, do you?!" Mrs. Hickman growled. "Well, I'm sure he can tell you no one wants Carla Hickman on his bad side in this town. He also knows people talk, and no one wants anyone cheating the vulnerable!"

"The vulnerable?!" both boys scoffed in unison.

"Yes, boys," she said in a calmer voice. "Now, then, are you going to fix it or not?"

"Of course we will, Mrs. Hickman," said the one Annie thought was Tommy. "Now, do you still have your husband's tools?"

Tools? Annie turned to look at Reggie, only to find he'd inched his way over to the garage window and gotten a discreet look at what was inside. He shook his head at Annie and gestured over to the spruce tree on what Annie guessed was the edge of Mrs. Hickman's property.

"It's a busted snowblower," he said as soon as they were under the tree.

"What?!" Annie forgot herself long enough to say it out loud. She clamped her hand over her mouth, but it was too late.

"Crap!" Reggie muttered under his breath. "Come over here!" He grabbed Annie's hand and guided her down the neighboring driveway to a garden bench halfway to the street.

"Who's there?" Mrs. Hickman's voice rang loud and clear behind them. Her approaching footfall made it clear it was only a matter of time.

Annie chuckled through her fright and thanked her lucky stars for the awkward conversation they'd had in the car. "I have an idea," she said.

"What --" Reggie started, but Annie threw herself at him and clamped her mouth onto his before he could finish.

He got the message quickly enough, and in no time they were locked in a convincingly passionate-looking embrace. Annie welcomed his arms around her in the winter chill, and almost felt proud when Mrs. Hickman made herself known above them.

"Reggie?!" she shrieked, loudly enough for them to pull back instinctively and look up at her. "What on earth are you up to? And you again?"

"Sorry, Mrs. Hickman," Reggie said. "You're not going to tell my mom, are you? She doesn't want me dating white girls, you see."

"Can't say as I blame her for wanting to stick with your own kind, Reginald," Mrs. Hickman said. "By rights I certainly ought to tell Rhonda. But I quite frankly wouldn't be able to do it without feeling humiliated on your behalf. Both of you get out of my sight and off Carolyn's property right now, and I'll hold my tongue.

"Thanks, Mrs. Hickman," Reggie said as they both staggered to their feet. "And Merry Christmas."

"And thank heavens we live in a place where you can still say that," Mrs. Hickman grumbled as she turned and walked back to her garage.

"Now what was this about a snowblower?" Annie asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

"I saw the whole thing," Reggie said. "First of all, no, there weren't any toys in the garage. What she was pointing at was a snowblower. I guess the boys' dad gave it to her and didn't tell her it didn't work."

"No wonder she was angry at them," Annie said. "Pretty disrespectful the way they were talking to her, too." As they were back to Annie's car, she leaned against it and realized for the first time that the back of her skirt was damp from sitting on the icy bench. "But now, if she's a dead end, I wonder who it was who inspired the rumor that the Baptists had something to do with it."

"I'm betting it was just someone who wanted to give my mom a hard time," Reggie said. "But look, I'll keep my ears open at church on Sunday, all right."

"Thank you, Reggie," Annie said. "And listen, sorry about before."

Reggie grinned. "Don't be. I always kind of wanted to do that with you."

"Did you, really?" Annie made no effort to hide her delight.

"Long as I can remember." Reggie confessed. "It's those glasses, Annie. So adorable!"

Annie laughed. "Always the glasses!"

Ten minutes later, Reggie had helped Annie out of her glasses and everything else, and was fussing over her to his heart's content in the shower. "You don't want to know how many times I've imagined doing this!" he said as he soaped up Annie's breasts for the third time.

"Oh, yes I do!" Annie replied.

"Well, why don't you tell me if you've ever imagined me like this?" Reggie said. He stood back and gave her a better look, almost inviting Annie to comment on whether the stereotype about black men was true.

She didn't, though the thought crossed her mind as well. "I certainly have," she said. "You don't know how happy I was last week when your mom said you were home for the holidays!"

"As happy as you are now?" he asked.

"Not even close." She picked up the soap and rubbed up a lather. "You're going to have the cleanest dick in town, Reggie."

"Have at!" he said, grabbing onto the towel rail for balance.

Annie had never heard a man howl quite like Reggie did as she went to town on him. "That's beautiful," she said as she worked him up.

"It feels beautiful!" he managed to say between heavy breaths. "Never felt like that before! I just knew you had a magic touch, Annie!"

"How?" She paused but kept her hand clamped firmly around his pulsating hardness, and looked him in his dark eyes as the hot water splashed every which way around them. "How'd you know?"

"You're a little older, and the quiet type," Reggie said. "Always figured that type was the best in bed. Speakin' of which, I ought to warn you, I'm...inexperienced. Not a virgin, but probably a lot closer to it than you are."

"That doesn't really mean anything," Annie said, though even she wasn't sure if she believed it. Then again, she mused, with Reggie she would have as many partners in the past week as in the previous two years. "If I need to teach you anything, we'll just call it an early Christmas present!"

"A gift nobody can steal," Reggie added.

Annie laughed, though the reminder also gave her a pang in her heart and a reminder that she was fresh out of leads. But tomorrow was another day. Tonight was for Reggie.

"You can see I haven't remodeled the place since high school," Reggie said as he guided her into his bedroom, both of them dried off but still stark naked. The walls were covered from floor to ceiling in football posters, which made Annie feel a bit like she was back in her high school boyfriend's room. She could only hope Reggie knew his way around a woman's body better than he had.

"I like it," Annie said, looking around the room that was lit only by his tiny bedside lamp. "It's a nice change of pace."

Reggie chuckled. "No one's called it that before." Still grinning, he looked Annie up and down. "So, are you sure you want to..."

"Fulfill your dirty older woman fantasy?" Annie said. "Positive!" She flopped back on his bed, her legs spread wide.

"Tell you what," he said, getting down on his knees beside the bed. "I don't know if this'll be any good. I've never, um..."

"Eaten white pussy before?"

"Eaten any pussy before."

"Oh, Reggie, that's so sweet!" Annie gave him a welcoming look that she hoped would set him at ease, and then she reached down with both hands to part her vulva for him. "And there's no great secret to it, really."

"If you say so," he said, admiring her pink inner flesh. He took a deep breath and placed his hands on her hips, and dove in. He started with a giant lick right on her clit that made her shriek, but Annie opted not to tell him it was too intense -- she'd had her chance to warn him about that, after all. With that introduction out of the way, his kissing and sucking was far gentler from then on, and Annie's guttural yelps died down to a steady laugh of oohs and ahhs as his tongue tickled her most enjoyably.

After a couple of wonderful minutes, she felt something pushing gently inside her. "How many fingers?" she asked.

"One."

"Make it two!"

Reggie did as he was told, and Annie found herself writhing around in a delicious loss of control. With his mouth and fingers both going to town on her, she couldn't have held still or stopped moaning for a million dollars. "Gonna come!" she warned him between husky breaths, in hope that it would inspire a grand finale of harder licks and faster stroking -- and he delivered, bringing her off with a whoop of joy. With a deep breath she propped herself up on her elbows to see him looking up at her with a grin, his two fingers still nestled in her vagina. "Thank you," she purred.

"Thank you," he said, finally pulling his fingers out. "I wasn't sure if I could do that."

Annie laughed. "I told you there was nothing to it." She twisted around and slid up to the head of the bed, and spread her legs again. "Now, are you going to put that in me or have I got to drag you over here?"

"Don't have to ask me twice!" Reggie was on top of her before she knew it, pinning her to the mattress most delightfully, and Annie had his cock in both hands and guided him in. "Ohhhh, that feels great!"