51 comments/ 87508 views/ 60 favorites 2cd Choice By: JimBob44 *Author's Note: Any and all persons engaging in any sexual activity are at least eighteen years of age. Chapter 1 Anthony Carrecci again mopped his sweating face as he dropped his duffel bag into the trunk of his 2010 Mustang. Coach Baggett had really pushed the University of Louisiana at DeGarde men's basketball team extra hard that afternoon. Even though he had showered after the work out, Anthony was still sweating profusely. The car had been a high school graduation gift from Anthony's mother and step-father. It was candy apple red, with white stripes and white leather interior. "It's a chick car," Frank Carrecci, his father had complained to his ex-wife. "It's a chick magnet," Linda Guidry corrected, smirking. "Trade you," John Guidry had joked, pointing to his Chevy minivan. "That? Now THAT'S a chick magnet." 'Chick Magnet' or not, no chick had ever graced the passenger seat of the car. Anthony Paul Carrecci was five feet, five inches tall and weighed two hundred and thirty eight pounds. His dark hair hung limply, and was quite often oily. At twenty years old, he still suffered the frequent acne breakouts of his teenage years. His brown eyes were mere slits in his pudgy face, a face that was further enhanced by a classic Roman nose. All of that was further highlighted by thick plastic framed glasses. If he had shaved the top of his head, stuck a cigarette in his mouth and worn a permanent scowl, Anthony would be the spitting image of his father. His mother, while prone to chubbiness, worked out diligently and avoided the middle age paunch. "Carrecci!" Jamal Nelson called out as Jamal unlocked the door of his battered Oldsmobile. "Good practice in there!" "Thanks, my man, you too," Anthony called back, smiling widely. ---- Ed Baggett had balked when Dean Robert Sims had called him and offered him the job of head coach of the U.L.D. Storm. "Come on, Robert, I'm retired, thirty five years at the mattress factory," Ed laughed. "Let me write you a check once a year and enjoy my retirement." "Big Eddie seems I remember you were pretty good on the B ball court," Robert had pushed. "Almost forty years ago!" Ed protested. "Look, Ed, I've got three weeks before the season opens, and all my coaches decide to go on strike," Robert whispered urgently into the phone. "Word got out and I can't get a single soul in here to save my ass. You've been a hell of a supporter of U.L.D. all these years; I'm asking you to do a little more than just write me a check. Please?" Daphne looked at her husband when he brought the Dean's request. "So, I'm going to have to start liking basketball?" she asked, flinging her long red hair out of her eyes. "Hoo boy, it's about the most boring game on the planet, isn't it?" "Almost as boring as tennis," Ed agreed. "Oh no! Tennis has got those cute outfits," Daphne disagreed. "Big Eddie, you do know you have to do it, right?" she asked. "Those kids need you. And TeddiAnn and I will be right there, cheering the Cajuns on." "Storm. We're the Storm, U.L.L. is the Raging Cajuns," Ed corrected, smiling. "Storm? Oh, that's cute," she smiled. "Go Storm!" Dean Robert Sims was delighted when Ed Baggett called him and accepted the job. Ed Baggett was not delighted when he walked onto the court to meet his team. "I'm too late to try out?" a basketball shaped kid had asked, lumbering out onto the court. A few of the players laughed as Anthony Carrecci waddled out. He was at least twelve inches shorter than the shortest one of them, and probably weighed a hundred pounds more than any of them. "Not at all," Ed smiled tightly. Anthony told all of them that he had played for the St. Thomas Aquinas Avengers, but had not played since graduating from that high school. Ed Baggett called Coach Fred Dumas at St. Thomas Aquinas. "Couple of years ago, you had an Anthony Carrecci on your basketball team?" Ed asked after they'd gotten the niceties out of the way. "Best player I ever had too," Fred immediately said. "Coach Blanchard, that's the guy had my job before me..." "Coached my son, Bill, back in Oh Two," Ed interrupted. "Mediocre coach in my opinion." "Yeah well, he had Carrecci try out for every team and never gave the kid a chance, based solely on how the kid looks," Fred agreed. "I said 'hell, we're not winning any games anyway, can't lose any worse if I give this kid a shot,' right? Kid gets out there, gives one hundred and fifty percent, is a real team player, does anything you tell him and just won't quit until after the final buzzer. I tell you what, you give me one Anthony Carrecci, I'll give you three Michael Jordans, and I'll have the better deal." "What position?" Ed asked, intrigued. "Believe it or not, and yeah, I know, he's all of what? Five foot tall? I had him as our point guard and he was unbelievable," Fred said. "He thinks. The whole time he's out there, he thinks. Sees what they're doing, makes adjustments, sees what we're doing, and makes adjustments." The next day, the players again snickered as Anthony waddled out onto the court and waited. "Carrecci, where's your uniform?" Big Eddie barked out. "I uh, I'm not on the team yet; I'm trying out," Anthony had stammered. "Like Hell; mister, you're on my team, you hear?" Ed barked. Big Eddie saw that Fred Dumas was not over-emphasizing Anthony's worth. He was indeed a thinking player and seemed to have knowledge and a love for the game. An added benefit was how the other players reacted. They were taller, slimmer, quicker, and should have been better than Anthony Carrecci. When he showed them up, they struggled all the harder to show him up. ---- There was one week until their first game; Anthony waved good bye to Jamal and got into his Mustang. He drove north on Highway 27, merged onto Highway 19, and then pulled into the parking lot of Early's Grocery store. After the fire, the grocery store had been rebuilt. But, newer fixtures did not do away with the small town friendliness of the staff. He could have picked up everything he needed at the Piggly Wiggly two blocks away from the U.L.D. campus, but preferred to do his shopping at Early's. And, there was always the chance he could get into Paige Guidry's line. Paige was his step-sister, had long brown hair, unbelievably large breasts, and a snotty attitude. Snotty toward him; she still saw Linda as the reason her parents divorced, even though it had been Sally Guidry that had decided to grab Paide and Chelsea and leave John for Ralph Theriot. ---- Lucy Gomez smiled as she sauntered down the street. Even though Marco, her boyfriend, had been arrested three weeks earlier, he assured her that he would be out in no time, and then they would get married. They were supposed to have been married a month ago; they were going to elope, it was so romantic, but then she had caught him with that blonde bitch, Kirsten Ellis. He assured her that Kirsten had been a terrible mistake that he had been high on meth and didn't know what he was doing. Lucy decided that she loved him enough to forgive him, and then he got arrested right before they could get the bus tickets for their elopement. They would have to elope; her dad hated Marco Juarez, said he was a no-good bum. Of course, the arrest had done nothing but confirm, for her father, his opinion of Marco. The news that she was pregnant, two months by her calculations had sparked a raging fight between father and daughter that even her mother could not set right, and her father had kicked her out of their apartment. No matter, Rosa Juarez, Marco's twin sister, had said that Lucy could stay with her until Marco got out of jail. She skipped up the two flights of stairs and let herself into the apartment. "Yo bitch," Kirsten sneered. "Bitch, what you doing here?" Lucy snapped. "Oh, hey Lucy, I wanted you to meet my best friend," Rosa laughed, obviously high on meth. "This is my best friend, Kirsten. Bet you didn't know Kirsten's my best friend, did you?" "So you all knocked up with Marco's kid, huh? That right?" Kirsten asked, and then kicked Lucy in her belly. "Yeah, Kirsten seen a picture of Marco and said 'ooh, he's cute, see if y'all can get me hooked up' and I'm like 'yeah, you my girl, know what I'm saying?'" Rosa laughed and punched Lucy in the face. ---- Paige looked up and groaned as Anthony waddled toward her register, carrying a loaf of white bread, a jar of crunchy peanut butter, a jar of blackberry jam, and a large jug of Gatorade. She did not try to stifle the groan; if he heard it, Anthony did not react. "Hey Paige, how's it going?" he asked as the twenty three year old sullenly rang up the items. She didn't respond, just glared at him. "Oh! Hey, I almost forgot; need a bag of ice; forgot to refill the ice trays this morning," Anthony continued. A nod from her was the only indication that she had heard him. "You're such a bitch to him," Shelley Timmons giggled as Anthony waddled away. "Uh huh," Paige sullenly agreed and watched as Anthony hefted a bag of ice out of the cooler. ---- Lucy coughed, sending a spray of blood. Rosa sped down Highway 52, heading west. She swerved around a candy apple red Mustang, laughing. "Up ahead, Kirsten ordered and put her hand on the door handle. Rosa slowed down slightly as they came to the short overpass. Anthony did not speed up when the car passed him; his mother had told him, first speeding ticket would be his last speeding ticket. "Here," Kirsten yelled, pushed the door open (which was not very easy to do; the air current around the car forced the door back), and shoved Lucy out of the speeding car "Oh my God!" Anthony yelled as a small body flopped and bounced on the asphalt in front of his car. He grabbed his cell phone as he lumbered out of his car. Anthony was about to call 911; sure that there was nothing he could do for the small girl lying on the street when she coughed. "Fuck, by the time the ambulance gets here..." Anthony muttered to himself. He carefully picked up the small body and carried her to his car. Her face was a mask of blood and welts; he could see where the girl had been struck repeatedly. Anthony grabbed the bag of ice from the floorboard and held it against her face with his right hand, put the car in gear, and then stomped on the accelerator. The forty mile drive from Highway 52, just at the Bender/DeGarde line, to the Emergency driveway of University Medical Center took under twenty fie minutes. Anthony was sure that he would have to replace the tires of his car; doubtful if there was any rubber on them any longer. Twice he had debated whether or not to slow down, but then Lucy would groan and he would leave another strip of rubber on the highway. The staff of UMC grabbed the girl out of his car, got her onto a gurney and sped her toward the Trauma station. "Name?" the nurse's aide asked. "Anthony Carrecci," Anthony said. "That girl? She goes to be all right?" "No, no, not your name, the girl; what's her name?" the nurse's aide asked, exasperated with his response. "I don't know, somebody pushed her out of a car right in front of mine," Anthony said, voice rising with his adrenaline. Anthony had acted, grabbed the girl, put the ice to her injured head, and driven like a mad man. Now that it was over, and he was able to think rather than act, the adrenaline kicked in and he felt very near fainting. The nurse's aide, not believing Anthony's tale, directed him to a hard plastic bench then discretely called the police. Chapter 2 Anthony wearily let himself into the apartment and put the fresh bag of ice onto the counter. Dr. Charles Lapointe had personally come out and thanked him for his quick thinking. "Probably saved her life, putting that ice on her head like that," he smiled. "She going to be okay?" Anthony asked. "Right now? I don't know," Dr. Lapointe had said honestly. "Soon as she wakes up, we'll do a couple of tests; let you know." Anthony gave the doctor his cell phone number, glared at the now chastened nurse's aide, and left the hospital. The bag of ice was just a few chunks of ice, so he bought another bag and slowly drove home. Home for Anthony Carrecci was Apartment 3 of the fourplex that his father owned. Not to be outdone by John and Linda's gift, Frank had bought two fourplexes and given Anthony his own apartment. Frank didn't do it entirely out of the goodness of his heart, though. For free rent and utilities and his usual allowance, Anthony was now the apartment manager. The rent and utilities, Frank Carrecci wrote off as a business expense, the allowance was far less than he would have had to pay a real apartment manager. After dumping most of the ice into his five quart drinks jug, Anthony put the bag of ice into his freezer. He then sat down on the lumpy recliner Paige and Chelsea had grudgingly graced him with as a house warming gift, and fell asleep. Sunlight was streaming into the apartment when Anthony came to. He hurried through his breakfast, grabbed his books, and hustled out of the apartment. "My sink's still leaking," Mrs. Lewis, the tenant in Apartment 1, screeched at him as he bustled down the stairs. "Look at it today; I get out of class at three," Anthony promised. ---- Lucy Gomez coughed; there was no blood; her punctured lung had been stitched and reinflated. But other than the cough, there was no sign of Lucy emerging from her slumber. "Anything?" Dr. Lapointe asked Yolanda Garcia, the head nurse. "Nope," Yolanda said, looking again at the patient's chart. "No one's called looking for her, huh?" he asked, noting that the space on the chart where the patient's name would go was still blank. "Nope; shame. She's a pretty little thing," Yolanda said. ---- "Okay, Mrs. Lewis; got that done," Anthony called out as he tightened the nut on the faucet. "Anything else while I'm here?" "About time," Mrs. Lewis grumbled. "Yes ma'am, but it's done now; anything else while I'm here?" Anthony snapped. "Not that I can think of," Mrs. Lewis snapped back. Anthony used her sink and her soap to wash his hands, knowing that this was a pet peeve of hers; she would have the bleach out, scrubbing his dead skin cells out of her sink before he was even out of her apartment. "Fucking pain in the ass old bat," he grumbled to himself as he lugged his tool box up the stairs. After a quick snack, Anthony returned to U.L.D. for another practice. ---- Lucy coughed, groaned in pain, and then gasped as another wave of pain welled up in her. "Hi Sweetie; can you tell me what happened to you?" Yolanda asked, pressing the button to page Dr. Lapointe. Her first instinct was to lie; snitching wasn't cool. "Know what? Fuck them," she decided. "Fucking bitches tried kill me and my baby; fuck them." She told the nurse, and then the hot looking doctor that came in exactly what happened to her, who was responsible, and why it happened. Yolanda got as much information as she could for her patient charts while Dr. Lapointe checked Lucy's vital signs. "Okay, anyone I need to call?" Yolanda asked, pen poised to write. "Mar... No, no one," Lucy said angrily. "Mom? Dad?" Dr. Lapointe asked. "No; they threw me out," Lucy wiped at her eyes. "Honey, I'm sure they'd like to know you're all right," Yolanda said gently. "Fine, bitch, waste your time," Lucy snarled and gave Yolanda her father's phone number. "I do not know anyone named Lucy," Lucy's father said and slammed the phone down. "Well, there's one guy I know would like to know she's all right," Dr. Lapointe said and gave Yolanda Anthony's phone number. ---- "Hello?" Anthony asked, mopping the sweat from his forehead. "Carrecci, tell your lady friend call you later," Big Eddie teased and blew the whistle. "All right, defense!" "Hey, that's great," Anthony enthused, then closed the cell phone and put it back into his bag. Big Eddie pointed out Anthony's assignment and Anthony jogged over to where Jamal stood, dribbling the ball. Jamal watched Anthony's hands carefully as he dribbled. He feinted left, and then drove hard to his right, only to watch Anthony take a three point shot with the ball he had just been dribbling a second earlier. "Damn, that is one tricky ass white boy, huh?" Big Eddie laughed at Jamal's expression. "Ball security, men! They only let you play with one ball at a time and there's a bunch of guys out there want to take it away from you!" Again, Jamal stood in front of Anthony, but this time he did manage to get around Anthony, but could not take a shot; Anthony was crowding him. "There are other people on your team, any of them open?" Big Eddie bellowed. "Wasting your time trying to get off a shot when you could just pass to someone else?" Jamal passed to Sean McKenna and laughed when Sean passed it right back to him, assuming that Anthony would relax his defense since Jamal no longer had the ball. "Okay, why'd you do that?" Big Eddie bellowed at Sean as Anthony lazily dribbled down court and made an easy lay-up. "You were open, you had a shot at two easy points, but you just toss it back to Jamal?" "Carrecci, get over here!" he yelled out. "Okay, Jamal, try getting the ball from Carrecci." Jamal felt his anger growing; Anthony kept the ball just out of reach, then feinted to the left, then drove to the left and got away from Jamal. "No, no, nuh uh, don't get mad at him, he's just doing his job," Big Eddie yelled when Jamal fouled Anthony, hard. "Damn, man, shit, I'm sorry," Jamal apologized as he helped Anthony to his feet. "Ain't nothing to it, my man," Anthony gasped for air. "Part of the game, right?" ---- Elise Simone pulled to a stop, eyes scanning the apartment building, the parking lot, and the surrounding area. Next to her, Jack Vogel, her former classmate and current partner, kept a rambling monologue, not noticing that Elise did not respond. Elise checked that her .357 magnum was ready, her baton was clipped to her belt, and her can of pepper spray was ready. Jack did not check any of these things, just flexed and posed, making sure that his muscular physique was displayed to maximum benefit. Elise had gone to her step-father and complained when she had been saddled with the arrogant, loutish Jack Vogel. "Honey," Sheriff Dick Davis had apologized. "After Eric got..." It was still difficult for him to say, out loud, that one of his officers had been seriously injured in the line of duty. And of course, Eric's being injured in the line of duty had set Carmen Davis, his wife and Elise's mother, on a campaign to get Elise to quit. "We needed new men; he's from here, knows the neighborhood," Dick weakly offered. "He is an ass hole AND a danger," Elise had hissed. "A danger?" Dick asked. "He is sloppy with procedure, forgets that he has a partner, doesn't communicate, and doesn't pay attention to his surroundings," Elise ticked off her complaints. Now, watching as he preened and posed, Elise tightened her jaw. "Are you ready?" she snapped. "Uh huh," he smiled, swaggering toward the external staircase of the apartment building. "Look at this," Elise said, pointing a smudge on the window of Rosa's car. "That look like blood to you?" "On the inside, too," Jack agreed, after trying to wipe it off with his thumb. "Great, just fucking great, got your thumbprint on it now, shit for brains," Elise muttered, then touched her shoulder mounted radio. "Dad?" she asked. "Damn it, Elise, that's 'Sheriff,' how many times I got..." Dick yelled into the radio. "Sorry, Sheriff, I got what looks like blood, 1985 Cadillac four doors," Elise said. "Left rear passenger window." 2cd Choice "I'll see if Captain Charles can send the Forensic crew down from DeGarde," Dick agreed. "I'll go to the front; you stay down here in case either one tries to go out the back," Elise snapped to Jack. "There ain't no back," Jack smirked. "My boy mike lived here right after we got out of St. Thomas." "There are two bedrooms, both with windows at the rear of the building," Elise snapped. Cover them." Elise walked up the stairs to the third floor apartment, paused in front of the door, heard the intolerably loud music booming out of the apartment, and waited. Knocking on the door while the music was blaring would do no good; even if they did hear her knocking, the music would muffle any responses from inside. She knew that these apartments had hollow core doors; a shotgun blast could rip through the door quite easily and do some serious damage to her. The song wound down and Elise nodded curtly to Jack. "Police!" she hollered, slapping the door with her baton. "Open up! Now!" She could hear the scurrying in the apartment right before the next song came booming out. "Open this door! Now!" Elise yelled, hammering on the door again. "What the fuck you want?" Rosa asked, peering out. Jack almost laughed as Kirsten jumped out the back window, falling into the mostly weed choked rose garden. "Hands where I can see them, Sweetheart," he smiled. ---- "Hi, I'm um, I'm Anthony Carrecci," Anthony mumbled as he stood in front of the nurse's station. "Yes sir," Yolanda asked pleasantly. "You, um, well, um, somebody called me from here?" Anthony stammered. "About that girl I brought in here last night?" "Oh yes!" Yolanda laughed, showing a lot of teeth. "You're the hero!" "Um, no, no ma'am," Anthony protested. "She um, she needed some..." "How's it going?" Dr. Charles Lapointe asked, exiting a patient's room and approaching the nurse's station. "You're patient's doing a lot better today; come on, want to see her?" "Um, yeah, yeah, she can have visitors?" Anthony asked, pushing his thick glasses up his nose. "Absolutely," Charles smiled, resting a friendly hand on Anthony's shoulder. "Come on; she's right here, room five nineteen." He opened the door and entered. Anthony hesitated a moment, then wobbled into the dimly lighted room. "There's my handsome hero?" Lucy smiled from the bed, peering at Anthony. Anthony looked over at Charles, who laughed at Anthony's consternation. "Yes, Ms. Gomez, this is Anthony Carrecci; he's the young man that drove like a madman to get you here," Charles smiled. "I'm um, I'm real glad you're all right," Anthony mumbled. The girl that lay in the bed still bore all the bumps and bruises of the horrible beating she had received, her left arm was encased in a fiberglass cast, her torso was covered by the shapeless hospital gown, but to Anthony, she was gorgeous. The type of girl that wouldn't look twice at him, much less talk to him. And certainly wouldn't call him 'handsome.' Her long black hair hung down, fanning out beautifully against the backdrop of her several pillows that now propped her upright. Her small round face had deep brown eyes (her left eye was swollen shut) a tiny nose, but pouting lips (even though the bottom lip was split) and gleaming white teeth, made all the whiter by her natural brown tan. "Come here," Lucy ordered, holding out her right arm. "I'm real glad you're..." Anthony said, shaking the girl's offered hand. "No, no, Antonio!" Lucy laughed and pulled him in for a hug. "Thank you; Dr. Charlie says you saved my life!" "Um, you're welcome," Anthony stuttered, unsure of what to do. "Thank you, Antonio," Lucy whispered and kissed his cheek. "Okay, I'll leave you two to..." Charles said, exiting the room. "I um, you um, you need anything?" Anthony asked, pulling away from Lucy the moment she relaxed her one armed hug. "No," Lucy smiled. "The food is pretty good. , you always hearing people say hospital food so bad, but..." "You know, um, like I don't know, like oh, hey! You um, you want maybe a couple of magazines, you know, something to read?" Anthony offered. "No, no, there's a TV right here," Lucy smiled. "Or, um, I mean, when I was in here, getting my tonsils out, my dad brought me some puzzles and stuff," Anthony weakly offered. "No, no, all I want if you sit. Sit, sit, talk to me," Lucy pointed to the chair by her bed. "Oh, okay, sure," Anthony said and wedged his bulk into the chair, wincing as the chair groaned against his weight. "So, Antonio, what do?" Lucy asked. Anthony launched into a detailed explanation of himself, making sure to throw in that he was a basketball player. Lucy screwed up her face in confusion. "But the basketball player is so big!" she said, stretching her hand above her head. "They let me stand on a chair," Anthony joked. "Antonio, they do not!" Lucy laughed. Anthony excused himself when the volunteer wheeled a dinner cart into the room. "Antonio, you come see me tomorrow, okay?" Lucy demanded. "Good night, Antonio," Charles teased as Anthony waddled out of the room. "Antonio?" Yolanda asked. "Said his name's Anthony, right?" Chapter 3 Okay, I do want to see you in four weeks; get that cast off of you, also want to see how that head is doing; you had a pretty severe concussion when you came in," Charles smiled, scooting the chair back from the side of Lucy's hospital bed. Lucy looked at him for a moment. "Dr. Charlie?" she asked. "Yes?" he asked, looking up from the notes he was scribbling. "I have, there is nowhere to go," she admitted. "Mother? Father? Maybe a sister r..." he asked. "And I have no clothes either; they cut them off when Antonio bring me in," Lucy continued. "Let me see what I can do," Charles said. He left room five nineteen and walked over to Yolanda. "What do we normally do when a patient has nowhere to go?" he asked. "Pat them on the head and wish them good luck," Yolanda said, not looking up from her computer screen. "Or any clothes?" he persisted, putting Lucy's clipboard on a peg. "Lost and found usually has something they can wear and St. Jules usually puts them up for a couple of nights," Yolanda offered. "I assume we're talking about Ms. Gomez?" "God, I really don't want to put her there," Charles muttered. "Not that there's anything wrong with St. Jules, but..." "Call Antonio," Yolanda shrugged. "Would you?" he asked, already grabbing another clipboard from the wall. "Oh of course!" Yolanda said, grabbing Lucy's clipboard from the peg. "God knows I have nothing else to do!" "Please?" Charles asked, already walking away. "Just because you said 'please,'" Yolanda smirked, punching the outside line on the telephone. ---- There was only a moment's hesitation when Yolanda called Anthony; he was fairly smitten with the small woman. In their talks, however, she had told him, in quite glowing words, all about her Marco, and the baby she was carrying for him. "But if Paige or Chelsea needed..." he reasoned with himself. He was not stupid; he knew Paige held him in contempt, and poor Chelsea went along with anything her big sister did. But he still regarded them as his sisters, and would do anything for them. "Be there at..." Anthony checked his sports watch. "Um, about six thirty? That too late?" "That's fine," Yolanda smiled and couldn't help throwing in, "Antonio." ---- Most of the clothing in UMC's 'Lost and Found' were barely scraps, but Lucy managed to find a very short skirt and a skimpy top, along with a pair of patent leather shoes and a rabbit fur jacket. "Perfect!" Lucy laughed as she pulled the clothing on. "Yeah, if you're a hooker," Yolanda said to herself. (In actuality, the clothing had belonged to a hooker, one that had died of a drug overdose in their ER.) "And there's my handsome hero," Lucy laughed happily as Anthony stuck his head in the door. "Um, you um, there anything we need to do?" Anthony asked. Looking at Lucy, his cock had immediately gotten hard. In her skimpy outfit she was the picture of naughtiness. "She's already signed everything," Yolanda smiled. "Got all her paperwork and here's a few samples; she can have one pain reliever every six hours, all right?" "Um, yes ma'am," Anthony said. "You ready, Antonio?" Lucy smiled happily and took his arm in her right arm. "Dr. LaPointe wants to see her in a few weeks; she has the appointment card," Yolanda called out as the candy striper wheeled Lucy toward the elevators. At the front entrance, the candy striper assisted Lucy out of the wheelchair and Lucy immediately took Anthony's left arm into her right arm and glued herself to him. Anthony was in a mental fog; Lucy was pressed tightly against his left side, and smiling up at him. She told him she was in love with some guy Marco, was even pregnant with Marco's baby, But she was pressed tightly against him in a very familiar manner. If Paige or Chelsea held onto him like Lucy was doing, if ANY girl held onto him and looked up at him like Lucy was doing, Anthony would have thought they had sex on their mind. "Ooh!" Lucy shrieked as a blast of cold wind greeted her exit from the hospital. "Damn, should have let you stay inside while I ran and got the car," Anthony apologized. "No, no, just hurry, which car is it?" Lucy complained. He guided her toward the Mustang and she stamped her foot impatiently while he unlocked the car door for her. "Oh, this is nice!" she said as he started the car. "You um, really?" Anthony asked as he drove out of the parking lot. "I mean, that nurse, Mrs. Garcia? She said you don't have no place to go?" "Antonio, I told you, my padre? He threw me out and my Marco's sister? Well you know what she did, right?" Lucy patiently explained. "Um, okay, I guess you..." Anthony stammered. He drove them home, blushing hotly at the thoughts that he was having about her. She had sunk back into the soft leather seat, then sat up and looked around at the lighted dashboard; the rear of the car, then sank back again. The maneuvering around had pushed the already ridiculously short hem up, and Anthony was sure that his passenger wore no panties underneath the short skirt. "What kind of car is this?" she asked. "Mustang," Anthony said. He pulled up to his parking spot, then got out and opened her car door for her. When she swung her legs out, Anthony's curiosity was satisfied; Lucy had on no panties. She did have a neat triangle of dark pubic hair. He helped her out of the car, locked it, and then guided her up the short flight of stairs, watching her cute little butt wiggle in front of him. "Hurry, Antonio!" she complained, bouncing up and down. "It's cold and I have to go!" She sighed in satisfaction as they entered the warm apartment. He pointed out the bathroom and she scampered to it. She did not close the door, simply raised the hem and plopped down on the commode. When she was finished, Lucy strolled into the small kitchen and looked into the cabinets, finally locating the food supplies. "This is all you have?" she asked, frowning. "Um, well, yeah, I mean, hey, this morning? I didn't know I was going to have a house guest," Anthony defended. Lucy draped her jacket over a chair and started pulling cans out of the cabinet. "Um, you want me to..." Anthony asked. "I have this," she assured him and pulled out some sauce pans. Anthony pulled out his Algebra text book and began doing the homework assignment while Lucy made a great deal of racket and muttered to herself in Spanish. "White bread?" she asked. "Oh no, no, no, Antonio! Oh, that is no good for you!" "I like it," he defended. "And I like chocolate ice cream, but it is no good for me, make me all fat," she said, rubbing her flat belly to emphasize her point. In thirty minutes, Lucy announced that their dinner was ready. "What is it?" Anthony asked, looking at the steaming bowl she put onto the table. "Soup," she laughed and slid a grilled cheese sandwich onto a plate and put it in front of him. "What does it look like?" "Nothing I'd ever want to eat," He muttered and shrugged his shoulders. She was a noisy and enthusiastic eater. She also saw meal time as time to talk. Anthony heard more about Marco and how Marco and she were going to get married just as soon as Marco got out of jail. "Lucky bastard," Anthony said seriously. "Oh, you meet him, Antonio," Lucy promised happily. "You my friend." He gave her one of his old tee shirts to wear from bed; it was far too snug on him and almost hung to mid calf on her. The neck opening gaped and he could see the top of her right breast as she giggled and swished around in the large shirt. She looked on in surprise when he grabbed to pillows off of his queen sized bed and left the bedroom. "Antonio; where you going?" she asked. "I'll sleep on the couch," he said and lay down. Oh, okay," Lucy said, recognition setting in. True, he was here hero, and was acting as a true friend. But he was also a man. Friend or not, hero or not, he was a man and would act as a man if they were in the same bed together. ---- She woke up and stumbled to the small bathroom. The mirror was still fogged over from his shower, the towel was still damp. She looked around the small apartment; he was not there. She smiled; he had to have come into the bedroom to get his clothes for the day, but did so very quietly. She found a twenty dollar bill sitting on the kitchen table and a small note telling her the money was in case she needed anything before he got home that afternoon. She fixed herself some breakfast, then dressed, and skipped down the stairs. She saw Mrs. Lewis as the old woman was returning from the large dumpster. "Ola," she greeted the woman. "Um, Ola," Mrs. Lewis agreed, clutching her purse tightly. "I live with Antonio," Lucy smiled, pointing up the stairs. "You live here too?" "You, live with, with HIM?" Mrs. Lewis asked eyes wide with disbelief. "Si, we amigos," Lucy agreed and happily started walking. With a wave, she headed east on Highway 52. "You and that fat ass boy?" Mrs. Lewis asked, shaking her head in disbelief. "Will wonders never cease?" ---- Anthony pulled into his parking spot and looked up at his apartment. He saw Lucy's small head just over the wooden guardrail. "Hey," he said as he approached the foot of the stairs. "Ola," she said listlessly. "Um, why you out here? Kind of cold, huh?" he asked, lumbering up the stairs. "I went out, but you didn't leave me no key; I had no way get back in," Lucy complained as he unlocked the door. "Oh, Lucy, I'm sorry! I didn't even think of that!" Anthony apologized. "So, what'd you do today?" Lucy asked as she hurried to the small bathroom. Again, she did not close the door, just plopped down on the commode and did her business while he filled her in on the day of a typical college student. "Later we go grocery shopping?" she asked as she began pulling cans out of the cabinet. "Um, sure, um, and you probably need some stuff to wear, huh?" Anthony asked. "Okay," she agreed and began cooking a late lunch for them. ---- Paige was extremely interested in the small, attractive woman that hung all over her step-brother, but didn't want to say anything to Anthony. But, when Anthony greeted his step-sister, Lucy's eyes immediately narrowed and locked with Paige's eyes. Paige wanted to laugh as Lucy moved closer to Anthony, putting a possessive arm around Anthony's left arm. "Oh, please, Honey, you want this pile of shit, you can have him," she wanted to laugh, but didn't. The small trunk of the Mustang was crammed full of their groceries, and Anthony nodded in satisfaction. Lucy had carefully selected each and every item that was put into the cart, babbling in Spanish and English about what meals she could and would prepare for them. He pulled up to the Bargain Bin clothing store. "Oh, I love this place!" Lucy excitedly agreed. "Hi, welcome to the Bargain Bin; anything I can help you find?" Nicole Dumas asked, Bargain Bin apron stretched out over her belly. "Hi, Mrs. Dumas; how's Coach Dumas doing?" Anthony smiled. "Anthony, how's it going?" Nicole smiled wider. "He's good, wishes you were still playing for him, that's for sure." "Well, I'm a U.L.D. Storm now," Anthony said, chest puffing with pride. Lucy immediately went to the junior section and began searching through the racks. "Well, your girlfriend seems to know what she's looking for," Nicole smiled. "She's not my girlfriend," Anthony mumbled. "Antonio, come look," Lucy demanded. None of the clothes she picked out were appropriate, in his opinion. The tops were too skimpy. The skirts too short. The jeans hung too low on her slim hips. She put up a mild fuss when he also threw two packages of panties into her basket but relented when he told her he would not buy the skirts unless she promised to wear the panties with them. She adored the tennis shoes he found for her. "No, no, the shirt is fine," she argued when he pointed out the nightgowns to her. "Oh, okay," he agreed and brought the basket to the cash register. "Thank you, Antonio," she murmured, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Tell Coach I said 'hi,'" Anthony called out to Nicole as they left the store. Lucy cheerfully let Anthony do all the unloading and hauling of bags from car to apartment. She spent that time in the bedroom, making room for her clothes in his small closet. "No, no, Antonio," she fussed when he grabbed his two pillows. "The bed is big enough; you stay here." Chapter 4 "Mrs. Lewis," Lucy called out as she knocked on the old woman's apartment door. "What you need?" the old woman asked, suspicious. "Antonio, he play the basketball tonight; I want to see him," Lucy whined. "Then go; who's stopping you?" the woman said, moving to shut the door. "I don't know where it is," Lucy whined, stamping her foot. "You know his padre maybe? I call him, he can take me." This tickled Mrs. Lewis; she knew Anthony's father, knew the man well. She knew that any interruption of Frank's day would send the man into a fit. "Sure Honey, come on in," Mrs. Lewis cackled. ---- Frank Carrecci frowned darkly when the caller ID on his phone showed it to be that miserable old woman, Mrs. Lewis. Installing Anthony as his building manager had been a stroke of genius; it got that miserable old woman off his ass. "Yes?" he barely bit back the venom in his voice. "Meester Carrecci? This Lucy," Lucy said, unperturbed by the angry retort. "Antonio? He plays the basketball tonight. I want to go; you take me." "Wait, what? Who is this?" he demanded, cigarette ash spraying from the cigarette he was smoking. And who's Ant..." "An Toe Nee," Lucy said slowly. "Your son Antony play the basketball; Mrs. Lewis you give me wrong number?" You mean Anthony?" Frank asked. "Yes, Antonio. This is Lucy; I live with Antonio," Lucy explained. "He plays the basketball tonight. You take me please." "What? I don't have time for this," he sputtered, outraged. "Okay, you know his Madre? Maybe she take me," Lucy said. She knew that Antonio's mother and father were divorced and that it had not been a pleasant divorce. "Fine, fine, be there in twenty, no, give me thirty minutes," Frank spat into the telephone. Thirty minutes later, Frank Carrecci glided to a stop in front of the apartment complex. An attractive young woman approached his car. Over the young woman's shoulder, he could see Mrs. Lewis, still cackling at his displeasure. "Ola," Lucy happily said, getting into the car. "Ola," he sneered. "Or, as most Americans say, hello." 2cd Choice Undeterred, Lucy launched into a happy chatter that did not stop until they entered the noisy gymnasium. U.L.D. did not have much of a fan base; they had never been known for their athletic program, so there were v very few people there, even though the game was to start in ten minutes. "Antonio!" Lucy called out, pulling Frank Carrecci behind her. "Hey!" Anthony said, surprised. "Um, hi, um, what you doing here?" "We come to see you play the basket ball!" Lucy happily announced. In front of everyone, Lucy put both arms around him, giving him an affectionate hug, then a kiss on the lips. "Knock them dead, boy," Frank said, giving his still stunned son a pat on the shoulder. "Meester Carrecci, we sit here, okay?" Lucy said, picking out two seats right behind the players bench. "You're the boss," Frank muttered to himself and shuffled after her. "Can we play now, Antonio?" Big Eddie teased. "Uh, yeah, yeah, fine with me," Anthony said, still replaying the kiss in his mind. Lucy shrugged out of the rabbit coat and Frank saw that she was wearing low-rider jeans and a top that came down to just below her small breasts. He also saw that she was a very slender girl. "Um, you don't mind my asking, just how old are you?" he finally dared to ask. "I'm eighteen; you don't need to worry, Meester Carrecci," Lucy smiled, and then affectionately rested her head against his shoulder. "And um, what happened to your arm?" he asked, tapping the cast with his finger. "Got in a fight," Lucy shrugged. A student walked by, carrying a plate of nachos. Lucy perked up and looked around. "Meester Carrecci?" she asked, spotting the concession stand. "Uh huh, and what you want to drink?" he asked. "Coke," she smiled happily at him. "Uh huh, wait here," he said, getting to his feet. Anthony looked over his shoulder and she beamed and waved to him. "Need your head on the court, Antonio," Big Eddie said as the announcer announced the singer for the national anthem. Despite his comment, Big Eddie looked over his shoulder at his wife, their eight year old daughter, and their daughter's best friend, Sophia Campion. Sophia was deaf, but TeddiAnn had learned sign language and the two ignored their surroundings, just flailing their hands, talking with each other. ---- Twice more, during the game, Frank found himself going to the concession stand; Lucy was a bottomless pit. During the halftime, Frank also found Lucy to be the focus of many fans' attention. The band played some songs and Lucy decided to dance along with the cheerleaders. The cheerleaders were less than enthusiastic; Lucy, however, was very energetic. Frank watched her swivel, gyrate, bounce and grind to the band's disjointed playing, enjoying the show she was putting on. "That was fun," she commented when the second half of the game got underway. "Uh huh," he agreed, trying to mentally push his erection down. ---- "You win?" Lucy asked, bounding onto the floor when the final buzzer sounded. "Uh yeah, yeah, six points," Anthony wheezed, pointing to the score board. "Yay!" Lucy clapped and gave him another kiss on his lips. Frank glared at the arrogant youths that came up to try to chat to Lucy while most of the spectators filed out of the gym. Lucy did not even acknowledge the would be suitors, just pointedly looked away. "Son, beat it," Frank sighed when an obviously intoxicated boy wouldn't take a hint. "Aw, kiss my ass, fucking fat pig," the boy sneered. "Let's see it," Frank sneered back. "Come on, you a big man? Want to tell me kiss your ass? Let's see it." The boy slunk away, muttering obscenities under his breath. "Hey, Dad, hey Lucy, thanks for coming; that meant a lot to me," Anthony said, now freshly showered and dressed in his street clothes. "Uh huh, good game," Frank complimented his son, patted him on the shoulder, then joined the few spectators that still milled around, heading for the doors. "Come on; take me home now," Lucy said, pulling her coat on. ---- Anthony grabbed his pajamas off the floor of the bedroom and moved to go into the small bathroom to put them on. "No," Lucy said, looking up into his eyes. "Don't need them." "What?" Anthony asked, looking into her dark eyes. "No, Antonia, no clothes tonight, Okays?" Lucy said, taking the pajamas from his hands. ""Um, what? You sure?" he asked. "Yes," she breathed, then kissed him again. Lucy pulled the hem of his shirt up, exposing his rolls of flab. If she was disgusted, she did not show it. Instead, she leaned forward and planted a tiny kiss to his chest. She then reached down and began to unbuckle his belt. Anthony then snapped out of his mental fog and assisted her in undressing himself. She giggled and pulled her skimpy top off, exposing her small breasts and hard nipples. Anthony slid his briefs down and off his thick legs. Lucy stared at Anthony's cock. Marco's cock was the only one she had ever seen before. Marco was always grabbing it, posing and posturing and gesturing with it. Erect, Marco sported just less than four inches. Because of his antics, Lucy had assumed that Marco was well endowed. Anthony's cock was a plump slab of meat that stuck out nearly six inches, with a thick foreskin. Underneath, Anthony had two large testicles, covered in a heavy mat of hair. "Madre Dios," she giggled, looking at the equipment Anthony sported. "Yeah, I know, it isn't much, but..." Anthony muttered. "Oh, Antonio!" Lucy sighed, wiggling out of her snug jeans. Anthony looked at the slim woman's body appreciatively. "God, you're fucking beautiful," he said. "No, Antonio; you, you're beautiful," she argued quietly, and then took him into her arms. "I want, let me," Anthony insisted and pushed her lightly onto the bed. He knelt on the floor and, with no previous experience, began to tongue her pussy. "Oh, Antonio!" Lucy sighed happily. Marco would not do this; Marco said it was 'fishy.' If Anthony thought it was fishy, he didn't seem to mind. "Aahh!" Lucy tensed and shook after a few minutes; Anthony had found her small clitoris with his tongue. "Now me," Lucy demanded and bent her head to take Anthony's cock into her mouth. She stuck her tongue into his foreskin, running her tongue all around inside the flap of skin, and then lapping insistently at the tip of his cock. She then sank her mouth over the tip, sliding her mouth further and further down. The head of his cock battered into the back of her throat and she gagged. She pulled her head up slightly, then used her hands to jack the remaining three inches of cock that wouldn't fit into her mouth. "Lucy, I'm going to, you need to..." Anthony warned, and then groaned as the first blast of his semen pumped out of his cock. "Mmph!" Lucy grunted, swallowing his semen as fast as he could pump it into her mouth. When he had finished spurting, she stroked his deflating cock, resting her head on his belly. "That was amazing," Anthony groaned, trying to catch his breath. He had sex before, twice. Both times it had been with a prostitute. Both times had been very unsatisfying. Lucy continued to stroke his cock, then bent and took him into her mouth again. When he began to get hard, she sat up, then swung a slender leg over and straddled him. "Antonio!" she sighed, pressing the head of his cock to the mouth of her pussy. She groaned out loud as he sank into her. Inch after inch pressed into her, stretching her wider than Marco ever had. Lucy bottomed out and looked into Anthony's eyes. She wiggled from side to side, and then slowly began to pull herself up. When she sank down a second time, she began to babble in Spanish. "Si!" she laughed when Anthony reached up and began to play with her breasts. She pressed her hands onto his, pressing his hands tighter on her flesh. "Oh Antonio!" she cried out in orgasm. She clamped her vaginal muscles down on his cock, and then shuddered as another orgasm came. She grunted through a third orgasm as he flooded her pussy with his semen. When he could breathe again, he got out of bed, stumbled into the small bathroom and got a washcloth. "Oh!" Lucy sighed as he cleaned her pussy with the wet washcloth. He staggered back into the bedroom, after throwing the washcloth into the bathroom sink, and collapsed onto the bed. "Not that I'm complaining, but why?" Anthony finally asked. "I love you," Lucy shrugged and lay down next to him. "I love you too," he admitted out loud. ---- Lucy fell asleep quickly, her nude body curled up against him. Anthony, however, could not sleep. Tears trickled down Anthony's face. She said she loved him, but he knew she was deeply in love with Marco, the father of her baby. He loved her, he knew that. He had known that from the first time he had visited her in the hospital. But Anthony also knew, as soon as Marco was released from jail, Lucy would grab her things and go. When she left, she would take a huge part of his heart with her. "Fuck, grab it while you can," his father would cough out, blowing cigarette smoke. "Pussy's pussy, know what I mean?" ---- Lucy woke Anthony up, gave him a scorching kiss, then babbled that they needed to hurry and get dressed. "Mass is at ten; you are Catholic?" she said as she pulled her jeans on. "You're wearing THAT? To church?" he asked as she pulled on a nearly translucent top. "Yes. Why?" Lucy asked, looking down at herself. "Nothing; what church we going to?" Anthony asked. "St. Richard's; it's in DeGarde," she said, pulling on her jacket. "Okay," Anthony agreed, grabbing his keys. He did speed up slightly; it was already nine fifty when they left the apartment. If Lucy was concerned about being late, she didn't mention it as she chattered happily. "You love me?" she asked suddenly as Anthony pulled into the parking lot of the small church. "Yeah," Anthony agreed. "Good," she smiled, nodding her head in satisfaction. He helped her out of the car, noticing that there were quite a few people interested in them and noticing that there were quite a few hard stares. She pulled him to the church, looked around, and selected a pew toward the rear. The interior of the church was abuzz with chatter; neighbors and friends catching up with one another, children laughing. Anthony had taken Spanish for four years in high school and was currently taking it in college, but could understand very little of the chatter around him. And when he looked at any of the patrons of the church, they all seemed to be staring at him with hard eyes. He asked Lucy about it, but she just shrugged. "Is it because I'm a white guy?" he persisted. In answer, she put her small hand on his. "You the same color as me," she said, looking into his eyes. Because Lucy did not die from their injuries, Kirsten and Rosa's court appointed lawyer was able to persuade Judge Jesse Johnson to release them both on ten thousand dollars bail. Rosa and Kirsten sat across the aisle from Anthony and Lucy and tried to be intimidating, glaring at her. Lucy ignored them, looking around, smiling at the few people that smiled at her, watching the rear of the church, but ignoring Kirsten and Rosa. Miguel Gomez knelt down, did the sign of the cross, and prepared to enter the pew when he looked up and saw his daughter. He set his face and shoved his wife to the next pew up. Lucy did let a few tears slide down her cheeks; she missed her father and mother. She was hoping that they could reconcile. The music swelled and the congregation rose to their feet as the procession of deacon, alter boys and Father John began. Anthony was able, somewhat, to follow the mass, Father John and his deacon were speaking slowly, clearly. The deacon gave the Homily and Anthony understood the words 'forgiveness' and 'reconciliation' as the deacon spoke. Reading the test of the Missalette, he deduced that the Gospel that day had been the parable of the Prodigal Son. Lucy kept looking over at her father and mother, hoping and praying that the deacon's words, that Jesus' words were entering their hearts. But both father and mother kept their faces pointed directly ahead. At the end of mass, Lucy quickly ran around and positioned herself at the end of the last pew; her father and mother would have no choice but to see her. "I miss you," she said as they drew near. Her mother faltered in her step, but her father set his face hard and urged his wife on. "I love you and I miss you," she said again, tears streaming down her face. ---- Kirsten and Rosa watched as Anthony helped Lucy into a bright red Mustang. They ran to Rosa's car and tried to follow the Mustang, but had to proceed slowly; the congregation milled about, laughing, chattering, and calling out to one another. "I'm sorry," Anthony mumbled as Lucy sobbed, heartbroken. "Just go home, please," she sobbed. "I um, on Sundays, my um, my mom, she kind of likes for me to come over, you know, um, to eat lunch with her and..." Anthony mumbled, trying to work up the courage to ask her to come with him. "Antonio, no," Lucy sniffled. "No, not today. You go to your Madre's house; just take me home, gracias." Chapter 5 "Look; there he is!" Kirsten crowed triumphantly as she saw Anthony lumbering down the stairs of the apartment building. "Which one he come out of?" Rosa asked as she tried to find some place to turn the car. There was a Ford F250 right on her bumper, though so she had to speed up. "Fuck one of the ones upstairs," Kirsten said, trying to look out the rear of the car. The two twenty two year old women had been searching for two weeks for Anthony, the red Mustang, or Lucy. They had seen the Mustang a few times, but as soon as they saw it, it would drive away and they'd lose it. ---- Lucy took the trash bag down to the dumpster; Antonio was supposed to do it; but then he was running late. She smiled; the reason he had been running late was because she had been pleasing him with her mouth. "Look likes the cat that swallowed the canary," Mrs. Lewis commented. Lucy burst into merry giggles; she had swallowed something much better than a canary. "Just put some coffee on; you got time for a cup?" Mrs. Lewis asked. She was a bit of a recluse, ever since her husband had died, but every time Lucy saw her, she waved, called out a friendly greeting. "Okay," Lucy agreed, and tossed the bag of garbage into the dumpster. ---- Anthony took his seat just as Professor McKenzie's Teacher's Aide started taking the roll. She nodded that she had seen him take his seat, and then closed her book. Professor McKenzie ran his fingers over his notes, then began to discuss Romantic period Literature. The man was totally blind, but his classes were always the most popular and Anthony felt lucky to have been able to get into his Classic Literature, English 315 class. Lucy said she loved him. His apartment, never really dirty (his mother had raised him to keep his home neat and orderly) gleamed because she cleaned the six hundred square foot apartment from top to bottom. She even stood on a chair to wipe the tops of the cabinets. She fixed him breakfast and dinner; and lunches on the weekends. During the week, he grabbed lunch at the school's cafeteria, or Clark's Drive In. He suspected that he was losing weight; he had to tighten his belt to another notch, instead of having to let it out another notch. She left him alone to do his homework, even though she spent all day alone. Then, she would ask him about the homework he had just done, asking him questions. He suspected that his grades would probably go up a few points as well due to her. She attended all of his home games. She got his father to pull himself away from his precious computer and come to the basketball games. More than one fellow student had commented on how much they enjoyed watching her get up and dance during the halftime band performance. "Lucky man," Big Eddie commented as they could clearly hear Lucy call out "Let's go, Antonio!" She cuddled up to him, held him, kissed him, and made love to him. She made love to him, offering her small, beautiful body to him. During one frenzied loving, he had blurted out that he wanted anal sex. Her ass, in his eyes, was a work of art. Compact, with only a small amount of jiggle, they were two perfect globes on top of her slender thighs. "Okay," she had shrugged. "It u, it's probably going to hurt," Anthony had stammered as Lucy rolled over onto her knees and put her shoulders to the mattress. "You won't hurt me, Antonio," she said, reaching behind herself to pull her buttocks apart. He used his saliva and his fingers to loosen her up. She giggled. "That tickles," she said as he tongued her anus. He pressed the head of his cock to her tiny rosebud, and ejaculated all over her buttocks and pussy. She said she loved him; but he knew, the moment Marco showed up, she would go. She would sit, cradling the small bulge in her belly, and talk to it quietly. He knew she was telling the bulge about his or her father. Telling the baby about the wonderful Marco and their wonderful future together. Then Anthony would walk into the room and Lucy would look up and smile, still caressing her belly. Danita, Professor McKenzie's Teacher's Aide, looked up at Anthony. She wondered if she should check if he was all right; tears were streaming down his face. ---- "There, there," Kirsten said, pointing out the apartment building. "I see it," Rosa said, mildly irritated. She was coming down from meth, her face and hands itched horribly, and Kirsten's voice was getting on her nerves. She parked the car, looked around, and then dug a small plastic bag out of her purse. "Aw, hey bitch!" Kirsten said as Rosa quickly snorted the contents of the bag. "What?" Rosa asked. "Asked you ten minutes ago you had nay and you all like 'Aw no, girlfriend' then you just up and find some huh?" Kirsten yelled. "Just remembered I had a little bit," Rosa denied. "Fucking bitch, I had some, I'd let you have it; that's what kind of friend I am," Kirsten lied, slamming the door of the car. Lucy heard the heavy car door slam and peered out of Mrs. Lewis's window. "Mrs. Lewis, we need to call the police," Lucy whispered, terrified. "What? Why?" Mrs. Lewis asked, crouching down to peer out at the two young girls that walked toward the building. "Those two? They try killing me," Lucy whispered. "Don't you worry about that," Mrs. Lewis declared, grabbing her purse. "No, Mrs. Lewis, no!" Lucy begged, grabbing the old woman's hand. "Call the police, Honey, tell them get here quick as they can," Mrs. Lewis said, yanking the door open. Upstairs, in Apartment 4, Vernon heard someone knocking on his door. "Aw yeah, whatever they selling, I'm buying," he muttered to himself, looking through the peep hole at the two attractive girls. "Hey, what's up, what's up, what's up!" he said cheerfully, flinging the door open. "You, um, hey, Lucy here?" Kirsten asked, startled by the sight of the fat, balding fifty six year old man, dressed only in jogging shorts. "Lucy, Lu... Oh yeah! That fine ass mama next door?" Vernon asked, flexing his nonexistent muscles for the two girls. "Next door?" Rosa asked, pointing to Apartment 3 "Yeah, think she's out right now," Vernon lied, having no idea if Lucy was in or not. "Y'all welcome to come in, cop a squat and wait for her, what you say?" "Thanks; think we'll see if she's home," Kirsten smirked, having regained some of her swagger. "All right, she ain't there, y'all just come on back' Vernon's my name, y'all hear?" Vernon said, making no move to close his door. 2cd Choice He leaned and watched the two women, admiring their backsides as they walked over to Apartment 3 and knocked on the door. Both Kirsten and Rosa stood there, ignoring him. "Come on, bitch, know you in there," Rosa called out, knocking harder. "You two get them hands where I can see them and get down here, now," Mrs. Lewis ordered. "Aw, that's that fucking crazy old bat lives downstairs, Vernon told the pair. "Y'all don't pay her no mind. Oh, hey, tell y'all what, got me some beer, y'all like beer?" "Fuck off, lady," Kirsten sneered and banged her fist on the door again. "I come up there, I'm going to be mad and you don't want this old woman mad," Mrs. Lewis warned. "Fuck! Crazy ass bitch's got a gun!" Kirsten said, looking down at Mrs. Lewis. "That's right, and I ain't afraid to use it," Mrs. Lewis warned. "Oh yeah?" Rosa giggled, reaching into her purse. "Rosa, what the fuck are you...?" Kirsten cried out. "Last warning, get them hands up where I can see them," Mrs. Lewis ordered. "Fuck you, old witch," Rosa giggled, brandishing Marco's twenty two pistols. Kirsten watched; stunned as Rosa's right leg suddenly flew backward, causing Rosa to land, face first, on the concrete landing. A millisecond later, her ears rang from the roar of the old woman's gun. Kirsten heard Vernon's door slam shut. She took off running toward the fat man's door, and began hammering on it frantically. "Mrs. Lewis, put the gun down; what'd I tell you about that?" Deputy Orville Jackson said as he got out of his cruiser. "Got one, shot her in the leg after she ignored my warning and pulled a gun on me," Mrs. Lewis calmly said. "Other one's probably in that old pervert's apartment; why you never locked him up? You know he's been peeping in my window." "He says he's not," Orville said. "Y'all can tell I'm not peeking in that old bat's windows," Vernon had protested. "For one, I ain't screaming, two, I still got my eyesight." Orville reached into the glove compartment of his cruiser and got a plastic bag out. "Mrs. Lewis, give me the gun; you know the drill." "I want it back; that was my husband's gun," Mrs. Lewis stated firmly. "Yes ma'am, you know the drill," Orville smiled, sealing the bag. "You," Orville demanded of Kirsten. "Sit on the ground. Right there. "Hands on top of head, legs out in front of you, cross them." He looked at the blood soaked leg of the unmoving Rosa and shook his head. "Sheriff?" he said, touching his shoulder radio. "Need an ambulance out here, Mrs. Lewis get another one, one female victim, gunshot to the right leg." "She use that forty four magnum again?" Dick Davis asked. "Nope, her husband's three fifty seven magnum, remember? Said she didn't like the recoil on that forty four," Orville laughed. Chapter 6 Anthony knew his father liked Lucy; Frank had asked both Anthony and Lucy if Lucy had an older sister that was available. "No, no, Meester Frank," Lucy would laugh. "But you come to church with us? You meet all the women there; that car of yours? They all line up, all 'give me ride, I want ride.'" His mom seemed to like her; she did invite Lucy into the kitchen to help with Sunday lunch. His stepfather flirted outrageously with her, making an ass out of himself. Even Paige and Chelsea were polite to her, and polite to him. Chelsea knew Lucy from the basketball games; she was one of the cheerleaders. So, she and Lucy could talk about the games. Paige had tried to be spiteful to the girl, but Lucy either didn't understand Paige's snide comments, or ignored them. Soon Paige figured out, by being rude to Lucy, she was only making herself look bad. In front of his father, in front of his mother and stepfather and stepsisters, Lucy cuddled close to him, snuggling into him. Her outward displays of affection were sometimes a little embarrassing to Anthony. "Damn, Honey, why you don't do that with me no more, huh?" John asked Linda, pointing to Lucy and Anthony. "Why would I? I don't even like you," Linda teased her husband. The bulge in Lucy's belly was very noticeable now; on such a small body, her five month pregnancy looked immense. Even as she cuddled closely to Anthony, she also cradled her belly affectionately. ---- Because they attended Mass every Sunday, except when the U.L.D. Storm was playing an Away game, some in the congregation began to nod in greeting to Anthony and Lucy. Some of the women would even stop Lucy and ask about her pregnancy. One man, an avid Storm fan, did engage Anthony in a spirited debate about March Madness. "I would be surprised if we make it to the top Sixty Four," Anthony admitted. "Maybe next year, though." "You should see this man," the man turned to a friend. "Grabs the ball right out of the boy's hands and makes a three pointer; he is on fire!" Lucy laughed all the way to the car. "What? What's so funny," Anthony demanded. "Your Spanish," Lucy laughed, leaning against him heavily. "What? You speak it too," Anthony defended. "But I don't have horrible accent like you!" Lucy chortled, almost falling over with laughter. "Ah, Amigo, he try, huh?" the basketball fan said, slapping Anthony affectionately. "Huh? He tries, right?" "Just get in the car," Anthony huffed to her. "Oh, Antonio, I love you," she giggled and leaned her head against his shoulder. ---- "You um, you think you might want to make this um, you and her permanent?" Frank Carrecci asked, squinting through the haze of cigarette smoke. Anthony looked up from the checker board, and then looked over at Lucy. She was curled up on Frank's leather loveseat; sound asleep after a heavy lunch. "I uh, um Dad, it's kind of complicated," Anthony stammered. "Love her?" Frank asked, jumping two of Anthony's pieces. "Wit all my heart," Anthony admitted, blinking back the tears. "Then what's complicated about it?" Frank asked and scowled as Anthony jumped one of his pieces and reached the end of the board. "King me," Anthony said and then looked back at Lucy. "I'll king you all right," Frank mock-threatened, shaking his fist at his son. "It's um, see, there's this guy, Marco? He's um, he's the father and..." Anthony said. "Her father? What about him? He don't like you or something?" Frank asked, getting defensive. "No, no, Dad, Marco's the baby's father," Anthony said. "Oh," Frank said and slid a piece forward. "Thought you were the father." "I wish," Anthony admitted. "But no, no, it's this Marco guy and she's all in love with him and..." "Bull. Shit. Bull shit she's in love with him," Frank snorted and lighted another cigarette. "She's in love with you; what's more, she needs you." After winning again, Anthony gently woke Lucy and they left Frank's house. "I need bath," Lucy complained, reeking of cigarette smoke. "Me too," Anthony agreed. "Oh? Lucy asked, teasing. "Maybe we take one together?" "Lucy, there is no way in hell my fat ass is going to fit in that tub and there still be room for you," Anthony laughed. She filled the tub, put her bath pillow in (Anthony had bought it for her; she loved taking baths with It.) and eased herself into the tub. "Antonio, you come talk to me," she called out. He sat on the floor of the small bathroom, dangled a hand in the soapy water, and talked with her. Every now and then, he would lazily run a hand over her swollen belly, her growing breasts, or her thigh. "You love me, Antonio?" Lucy asked. He looked into her dark eyes. "With all my heart," he admitted. "What about baby?" Lucy asked, dark eyes searching his. "Huh? You love the baby?" "Almost as much as I love the momma," Anthony admitted. "Good," she said and used her foot to push the tub's stopper up. He helped her stand, and then toweled her dry. "You hurry," she ordered as she stepped out of the tub. "Yes ma'am," he said and dropped his clothes to the floor. When he finished showering the cigarette smoke off, Anthony toweled dry, then went looking for Lucy. "Here," Lucy ordered, handing him a bottle of lotion, and then laying back down on the bed. "Oh, almost forgot," Anthony admitted, then coated his hands with the lotion. "Ah," she sighed happily as he applied the lotion to her body. When Anthony finished coating her flesh with the slimy fluid, Lucy happily took him into her mouth, and then swallowed his seed. "Thank you, Antonio," she murmured as she drifted to sleep, happy and warm. Anthony lay awake, listening to her soft snores. He had been monitoring Marco Philippe Juarez; the St. Elizabeth Courthouse had a web site. On Thursday, Marco Philippe Juarez, age twenty two, had posted bail and had been released from the Bender Facility. Thursday evening, Anthony had noticed that there were fewer clothes hanging in the closet. Friday, he found three cardboard boxes neatly stacked in the closet by the front door. Inside the boxes were all of Lucy's clothes and shoes. The only items in the closet were the few maternity clothes his mother had given to Lucy. Her only shoes were her tennis shoes, no longer the gleaming white they'd been a few months ago. Anthony looked at her, sleeping so peacefully next to him. He wondered when she planned on telling him that she was leaving. Or if she planned to just grab her boxes and go when Marco showed up to get her. Would he come home to an empty apartment, come home to deathly silence. The sex was great; he had been getting more sex in the past few months than he had imagined. He had joked once, to Jamal, that he didn't even have time to masturbate now. The cooking was great too. Every night, she made sure he had a healthy, satisfying meal. Every morning, she fixed him a simple, yet filling breakfast. She let him go off to school after a soft kiss and a tight hug. Around her neck, she wore his Christmas present to her, a simple gold crucifix and gold chain. Just as he released her, she would clutch the crucifix in her small hand and smile at him. What he would miss most of all, though, was the noise. She was noisy. She was noisy when they made love, she was noisy when she cooked; and when she ate. She was noisy when they watched television; the volume was at an unbelievable volume. Music was listened to at blaring decibel levels. Even when there was no television or stereo on, she sang, chattered, laughed, hummed, tapped her feet, and snapped her fingers. He fell asleep staring at the small girl. ---- Saturday afternoon, Anthony took his Mustang down to the Car Wash on Fifty two and Nineteen. He preferred this car wash; they did it all by hand. Normally, the girl with the clipboard that wrote down his options would just scribble and give monosyllabic grunts. But this time, she did a little flirting with him. Anthony shook his head in wonder. He had not noticed, but his skin was no longer mottled with acne. The new glasses that Lucy had picked out were more attractive on his smiling face than the old plastic frames. He had to throw out most of his old clothes; they were far too loose on him. He was able to dress more stylishly, now that he was able to shop in the regular clothing section, rather than the 'Big And Tall' section. After the car was ready, the girl thrust her impressive chest at him, and requested that he 'come back real soon.' Anthony drove home, smiling. He was glad Lucy had not been with him; Lucy had a jealous streak that was a mile wide. Anthony let himself in the apartment and stared at Marco. The young man sneered at him as he cautiously entered his own living room. Lucy sat on the leather couch, next to Marco. She looked at Anthony for a moment, then turned and said something to Marco. Marco smirked, grabbed his crotch and said something to Lucy. Anthony understood that Marco had said something about his cock. Having to take showers with twelve African-American males and one Native American male, Anthony knew that he wasn't blessed in the genital department, but he wasn't cursed either. Lucy's laughter cut right through him, though. He stood for a moment, saw that Lucy wasn't going to introduce him to her lover, and took the coward's way out. He simply walked to the kitchen, got a beer, then walked to the small bedroom and sat on the bed. There was more chattering in Spanish, more of Lucy's laughter, then silence. He twisted the cap off the bottle of beer, took a hearty gulp of the beer, and waited. More silence. His mind started swirling, creating a 'white noise' to drown out the silence. The silence was slowly driving him mad. He took another gulp of the ice cold beer, and then set the bottle down on the nightstand. "Hey," she said quietly from the doorway. At first, he was sure that he had imagined her greeting. Surely the silence in the apartment meant that she had left with Marco. Her small hand rested on his shoulder; he knew this was it. He hadn't realized that he was crying, but when her small hand touched him, he began sobbing in earnest. "This is it, isn't it?" he managed to choke out, his words punctuated by gasps and groans. "Antonio, what's wrong?" she asked, sitting next to him and hugging him as tightly as her swollen belly would let her. "You, you and Marco, y'all are leaving, right?" he asked, trying to disentangle himself from her. He didn't want her seeing him like this, didn't want her to see his weakness. He certainly didn't want her pity. "What?" she asked shocked. "Antonio!" she barked out, clutching him even tighter. "Stop! What is this? Why you saying I'm leaving you?" "Because Marco's here now," Anthony said, his tears giving way to anger. "Marco?" she said, her voice tight with anger. She jerked her arms from around him, stood, and began gesturing wildly, cursing in Spanish. "No, no, Antonio!" she spat, face twisted in rage. "I go nowhere with that Marco!" More cursing, more gestures, and then she stomped out of the bedroom. Anthony lay back on the bed, exhausted from his emotions. "No, no, I go nowhere with that Marco," Lucy snapped, trying in vain to twist the cap off of her bottle of beer. "Here, you open, please." He reached out a feeble hand, twisted the cap off, and handed the bottle back to her. She drank deeply, cursed some more, then took another gulp of her beer before slamming the bottle down on the nightstand next to his bottle. "Antonio?" she asked, laying down next to him and scooting close to him. "Yes?" he asked voice flat. "Antonio? Why you say I leave with Marco?" Lucy asked, lightly touching his arm. "You want me to go? You tired of me?" "No, no, it's just that..." Anthony said, and then forced himself to finish the difficult words. "Lucy, ever since you been here, I knew you was just waiting until Marco could come get you, and then he gets out and..." Anthony said. "Fuck, Lucy, I'm not stupid; I know I'm your second choice; Marco's always been number one." "What?" Lucy shrilled, sitting up and staring at him. "You think I'm...that I'm just...." More cursing in Spanish followed "I'm some kind of whore? That I make love to you, but I'm just waiting for him?" Lucy shrilled, then slapped Anthony's chest as hard as she could. "Ow!" Anthony yelled, putting his hand out to prevent another slap. "That I suck your cock because you let me stay here?" Lucy screamed, outraged. "Look!" Anthony bellowed, getting to his feet. "From the fucking minute I met you, it's been 'Marco this' and 'Marco that' and 'we're getting married' and..." "Have I said anything about Marco since that night?" Lucy screamed back, getting to her feet and squaring off against him. "No! When you and I made love? That was it! No more Marco!" "Then what about this?" Anthony raged, stomping out of the bedroom into the living room. "Huh? What about this? All of your clothes are in here!" he yelled, flinging open the closet. "All packed up and ready to go!" "They don't fit no more, Antonio!" Lucy yelled back. "You look at me? I'm big fat cow!" "And when he sat here, right here, in my house, and made fun of my meat," Anthony continued, grabbing his cock. "I heard you! You laughed at me!" "I laughed at him!" Lucy yelled. "He grabs it like it's so big! I tell him 'My Antonio; he got ten times more then you, Marco, you little boy!'" Lucy grabbed her purse off of the coffee table and stomped to the door. "I leaving now, Antonio. You stop being stupid, we talk, okay?" Lucy said and slammed the door shut. The silence was deafening to him. ---- Antonio?" Lucy asked, crawling into the bed. "What?" he flatly asked. He'd finished his bottle, and then her bottle, then drank three more bottles, and then finally dragged himself to the big, empty bed. Now, two hours later, his brain was still a little foggy from the beers, and the loneliness. "Mrs. Lewis? She said I should tell you why," Lucy said. Anthony felt his heart constrict. "I loved Marco," Lucy said, snuggling close to Anthony. "I give him my virginity, I let him put his cock in my mouth; I do anything he want, and then he goes and fucks Kirsten?" Anthony didn't respond; he was numb. He knew she was rubbing his arm with her small hand, but couldn't feel it. "'Oh Lucy, it was big mistake, I never do it again,' and I find out I'm pregnant," Lucy continued. "He, the big stupido buys drugs from cop, but he tells me we're in love. I move in with his sister; that's how I meet Marco; we're friends and he comes over and I fall in love. But Kirsten and Rosa? They beat me up and then you come and save me." He felt her soft lips press against his cheek. "You my handsome hero," she whispered into his ear. "My Antonio." "You don't even know me but you come to hospital, and when I needed place, you take me here," Lucy continued. "Big old bed but my Antonio? He sleep on couch; he good man. I go see Marco in jail? And he tell me he want me to say I was wrong; Kirsten and Rosa? They don't try to kill me. He want me to say it was mistake. I tell him 'they try killing me! They try killing our baby!' but he don't care." She tightened her grip on Anthony's unfeeling arm. I leave there, I don't know where to go, so I just come back here," she continued. "And you come home and I look at you and I think. Marco? He don't care. Antonio? He cares, he care plenty and he's good man." Her grip tightened on his arm and Anthony began to feel her fingernails dig into him. "Then he come here and try to make me tell them I make it all up or he going to take my baby away when she comes," Lucy said, voice growing loud. "Antonio? You tell him, you tell him she's our baby; he can't have her," Lucy implored. "Our baby?" Anthony asked, the fog of the five beers beginning to lift. "Antonio," Lucy said, leaning over him, looking into his eyes. "I fall in love with your handsome face, your big heart." She kissed him lovingly, and then rested her head on his chest. Antonio, when she comes, she will be our baby; she will have your name and you and me? We take her to church, we show her to everyone so they can see her. She is our baby," Lucy decided. "You're not leaving?" Anthony finally dared to ask out loud. "Never," she promised. She draped an arm across his chest, snuggling closely to him. "Antonio, you are not my second choice. Antonio Carrecci, you are my only choice." She rubbed herself against him, trying to get herself even closer to him. "You? You will protect me, you will protect us. You will be our handsome hero forever," she said. "Or die trying," Anthony promised. The End. **Author's Note: I write these stories for my pleasure; I post them here for your enjoyment. Like it? Hate it? That's fine. But if you're going to critique my work, have the decency to explain your opinion. 'You suck' or 'this is stupid shit' are not critiques; they are pointless blathering. Tell me WHY it sucks or WHY it is stupid shit. 2cd Choice Any and all comments from 'Anonymous' will be deleted. And, please do not send e-mails; as soon as I figure out how to turn that option off, I will. I very rarely check that particular e-mail account. (Anthony Carrecci is a character from the 'Flowers In The Heart' series. Big Eddie, Daphne, and TeddiAnn Baggett are characters from 'The Broussard Sisters' series. Fred Dumas, Nicole Dumas, and Sophia Camppion are characters from the 'Ice Heart' and 'The Broussard Sisters' series.) Thanks for reading.