Esmeralda gave a deep sigh.
“I told you, I’m awesome at this,” Ashleigh said.
“Yeah,” Esmeralda said.
Ashleigh rubbed her way up Esmeralda’s back, feeling the girl relax under her fingers.
“So, did you have fun with Tommy last night?” Ashleigh asked.
“Oh, yeah.”
“What did you guys do?”
“We made chili.” Esmeralda giggled. “Vegetarian chili.”
“Yeah? Was it good?”
“Oh, yeah. It was hot.”
Ashleigh moved her hands down to Esmeralda’s lower back and started over, working her way up to Esmeralda’s shoulder blades. “Then what did you do?”
“We danced. I showed him how to salsa.” She giggled again. “He was funny.”
“Yeah? Don’t you get scared when he touches you?”
“Oh, yeah,” she sighed. “So scared. But I like feeling scared.”
“Oh?” Ashleigh said. “That’s interesting.”
“I like your touch, too. Keep touching me.”
“Take your shirt off.”
Esmeralda slowly tugged away her shirt and bra, moving at half-speed as if tranquilized. She dropped them on the floor and snuggled into her thick pink towel.
“Then what else did you guys do?” Ashleigh rubbed her shoulders and neck.
“We played around.”
“Did you kiss?”
“Yes.” Esmeralda giggled again, drunk on Ashleigh’s energy.
“And he played with your tits?” Ashleigh rubbed her hands up along Esmeralda’s sides.
“Yeah.”
“And then you had sex?”
“No,” Esmeralda held up a finger and wagged it. “No, no. But I sucked his dick.”
“And then what?”
“He came in my face and fell asleep.”
Ashleigh snickered. “Turn over, Esmeralda.”
Esmeralda turned over. Ashleigh looked at her old finger bone, resting between Esmeralda’s erect nipples. Esmeralda held too much power over Ashleigh to be trusted.
“You’re so important to me,” Ashleigh said. “I can give you a massage like this every day if you want.”
“Oh, yeah?” Esmeralda looked at her with dilated pupils and languid eyes, and gave her a drugged smile. “That would be perfect.”
“I know.” Ashleigh tugged down Esmeralda’s pajama pants, and the girl didn’t even protest.
Ashleigh slid a finger into the damp between Esmeralda’s legs and rubbed the girl’s clit. Esmeralda gasped.
“Do you love me?” Ashleigh asked.
“Yes, I love you.” Esmeralda’s eyes closed.
Ashleigh rubbed her faster, and she turned her love-energy way up, pumping it into her. Esmeralda’s body quivered, and her hips hitched up off the couch.
“Do you love me more than you love Tommy?”
“Yes, more!”
“A lot more?”
“So much more!” Esmeralda cried out.
“You belong to me, don’t you?” Ashleigh asked.
“Yes.”
“Say it.”
“I belong to you…I belong to you…”
“That’s right,” Ashleigh said.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The day of Jenny's high school graduation was overcast, but the Weather Channel said it wouldn't rain, so graduation was outside on the football field as usual.
Jenny stood in her rented cap and gown on the temporary bleachers set up on the field. The graduating class was sparse and scattered on the bleachers, as were the groups of parents watching from the permanent concrete bleachers. With so many people dead or missing, it was a gloomy day in more ways than one.
Jenny found her father among the parents. He'd dressed in his best suit, which was a brown corduroy artifact of the 1970s. His girlfriend June sat beside him in a flowered church dress.
A few rows away from them, she spotted Seth's parents. Mr. and Mrs. Barrett were dressed quite a bit better than Jenny's dad, but they all looked equally miserable.
“Hey, Jenny!” Seth called to her as he climbed up the bleachers toward her. “Did I miss anything?”
“Just a lot of standing around.” Jenny welcomed him with a hug and a quick kiss. She noticed his eyes glance warily towards his parents.
“Have you talked to your dad about Clemson?” Jenny asked.
“I wish I could go there, Jenny. But he's like iron on this one.”
“But you know I can't live in Charleston.”
“You can!” Seth said. “It's not even a big city like Atlanta.”
“Charleston has too many people,” Jenny said.
“My dad’s insisting. I have to go there because they ‘have the right focus on global market integration.’” Seth jabbed a fist in the air as he imitated his dad’s voice.