Chapter Four Joey sat in a booth at Bonze's Drug Store sharing a five-scoop dime sundae. The girl did most of the talking. She talked about school, and the movies and music that she liked. She kept asking Joey questions, but he didn't know how to answer. He never heard of many of the singers, because to him swing was a ride at a playground. The movies he could care less about, because they all seemed like boring musicals. Joey got up and sat on the same side as Mary Margaret. He wrapped both hands around her neck, and gave her long kiss using his tongue. Mary Margaret pulled away. "What do you think you're doing?" she said hostilely. "Kissing you." "You aren't supposed to kiss on the first date," she commented "Why?" ~Boy, people are backwards here,~ Joey thought. "Because it's a rule." "It's a stupid rule," Joey stated. "Now, let me go, you snake!" Joey tried to let go of the girl, but he couldn't. He was trapped. "Can't! My bracelet is caught to your hair," he told her. "So, how about if we kiss some more." "Are you trying to take advantage of me, Mario?" "I don't think so," Joey told her. He lifted up his left arm that was connected to a big lock of red hair. "Get it out!" she yelped. "Get it out!" "I'm trying," Joey answered. Sam and Al were by the long row of stools by the ice-cream bar. Sam asked the soda jerk for a scissors, and brought them over to Joey. Joey cut a lock of her hair off her head. "Now, you have something to remember me by," Mary Margaret smiled. "Sorry, it's attached to your fake gold bracelet, you got for Christmas." Joey didn't get anything that Christmas, because he had no family or middle-class friends to give it to him. "Can you walk me home?" she asked him. Sam at the same time came up to the booth, "It's eight o'clock. Time to go back to the store." "Sorry, I have to work," Joey told Mary Margaret. "Maybe, I'll walk you home some other time." "That would be grand," she said, walking out the door. As Sam and Joey reached the store, there was a brunette standing outside. "Oh, hi, Al," she said breathlessly. "I know you have to work tonight, but I was wondering if you could sneak me out a pack of smokes as usual." Her fingernails ran through Sam's hair as her body brushed up against his. "Well, I don't want a pretty little thing like you to get lung cancer," Sam said as he squirmed away and walked quickly inside. "I'll get you a pack," Joey offered. "Thanks, Mario." Mara looked at him sexily. Joey ran inside, shoplifted a pack and then walked back outside, handing the cigarettes to Mara. "Thanks!" She wanted to make her "boyfriend" jealous, so she backed Joey into in large display window, so 'Albert' could have a plain view sight of what she was doing to his friend. Since Al didn't want to spend any more time at the ice-cream shop, he focused himself on the indoors of Luigi's shop. "Sam, you have thirty minutes before the robbery," Al warned. "Wish me luck," Sam answered. "By the way, where's my son?" As if to answer his own question, Al glanced out of the large storefront window. He instantly grew furious. " Got to go, Sam. This kid is going to be in trouble when I catch up with him." Outside Joey was passionately kissing Mara, one hand on her ass and another hand on her silky smooth leg. Mara's skirt was hitched up on one side, giving Joey a plain view sight of almost everything underneath except for her privates. Joey's hand was groping under her blue blouse for the upper Promised Land. "Joey, let go of her now," Al commanded. "I said now. If you let go of her, I'll boost you allowance." Still, there was no response from the teenagers. "If you don't let go, I'll take away your allowance and ground you for two months." Joey pulled his lips away from Mara. "You kiss better than Al," she told him sensually. ~I kiss better than my dad? That means this chick kissed my dad! Ewwww!~ Joey thought. &But at least I'm not kissing my own mother, who's probably to busy having a snowball fight down the block to care about making out.& Joey went back to kissing her. "Son, if you don't help Sam out, I'm kicking you out of the cadet program. Maybe, just maybe, I'll let you live back here for a while for you to learn how tough life really is, so you won't be chasing girls all the time. Girls seem like the only thing you care about." He had just noticed how familiar Joey was to himself. diana beckett (formally Monica Briggs) (C) June, 2002