Popscotch [part 1]

Important: This part of the story does not contain actual penetrative sex. The next part will contain plenty to make up. Please do not read this part for penetrative sex and then complain that there isn’t any. If you do read this and just find that it wasn’t worth it regardless, I understand, and will withhold the next part for your convenience. If there though is a demand, I will complete the story on this site.

Popscotch
—

Part 1
–

“What’s your name mister?”

“I’m reading; can’t you see?”

“What’s your name?”

“Go away.”

“Mister, what’s your name?”

“I’m reading.”

“Is that your name; I’m Reading?”

“Sure.”

…

“What’s your name?”

“What’s your name?!”

“Amy, Amy Coyer.”

…

“Mister, what’s your name?”

I closed my book slowly, pressing it to my lap and stretched my fingers into an open fist. The knuckles underneath the skin popped as I drew in. My eyes stared straight out into the park avoiding any sight of the little girl sitting next to me on the bench. The city skyline melted into the horizon several miles behind.

“Popscotch,” I said as coolly as I could.

“Just Popscotch?”

“Just Popscotch.”

I picked back up my book and unlocked the binding to a random page. It was a story I had read so many times, but never enough. Sik Coy by Edward Logan. I had always fell into mysterious peace while rescanning the pages, looking deeper into the words, all sitting under the warming sun and within the cool wind, in that park and on that bench with such an amazingly calming view and only ever distant sounds of people that seemed never to disturb me.

“Are you magical?”

“No.”

“Well, you sound like you would be.”

“Why?”

“Because you have a magical name.”

“Are you a bland mutt of society?”

“No.”

“Well you have a bland mutt of a name.”

…

“Are you imaginary?”

“Where’s your parents?”

“Gone.”

“Why are you here? Who are you with?”

“You.”

… I sighed.

“I’m not your guardian, so I don’t count.”

“You’re my imaginary friend, so you do.”

“I’m not imaginary.”

“And you’re twenty-one years old so you’re old enough to take care of me.”

“I’m twenty, and I’m not your friend.”

“Do have any money?”

“How old are you?”

“Thirteen.”

A single scoffing laugh broke my voice to that word from a girl who looked no older than nine, maybe ten.

“Go away.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m with you, so if I leave you, I’ll get in trouble.”

“You’re not with me.”

“You’ll disappear if I leave because you’re my imaginary friend. I don’t want you to disappear.”

“Go home.”

“Do you want to live with me?”

“No.”

“Where do you live?”

“None of your business.”

Her voice changed from curiosity to annoyance.

“When you get angry, do you feel like killing people too?”

“Amy, leave him alone.”

Another girl walked from behind the left of me, eying down the aggravating young one sitting beside. She looked a lot more along the lines of that thirteen the child claimed to be; probably – easily, a few years older. My eyes wouldn’t break off her.

“I’m sorry about her.”

“Shut up Ashley! He’s my friend and I didn’t say you could talk to him.”

“I’m not her friend.”

“You are too. You’re coming to live with us, aren’t you?”

“You are?” asked the older girl.

“No.”

“You have an apartment guide right there under your butt, and we have an extra room at the house we live. First month is free and every one after that is really cheap.”

“Too bad you live there.”

The older girl, Ashley I assumed, let out a single laugh to my comment.

“Fine, you get free room and board for as long as you live there.”

“What?”

“We actually rent that extra room, so we’ll just let you live there since we already pay for it.”

“Who’s we, and I’d rather not be in your debt.”

“I’m sorry sir,” Ashley interrupted before the little one, Amy, went on a long rant. “We live with a couple who rent out two rooms. We’re renting them both with the money we inherited when our parents died. They agreed to be our legal guardians, but only under our circumstances that we lived there as if they weren’t. So we pay them, and they stay out of our business.

“I’m not asking you to live with us, but I am asking that you please let me invite you over for dinner as an apology for letting my little sister wonder out of my eyesight.”

As much as it sounded like a shady idea, the concept of a free meal with an overly alluring, young teenage girl was too much to give up for fast food and then back to my motel room.

“Alright.”

“Yes!” Amy exclaimed. “Ashley, this is Popscotch. Popscotch, this is Ashley. He’s not magical.” She said her last sentence in a loud whisper to her sibling.

—

I sat down uncomfortably at the dinner table. The house was pretty amazing I had to admit after the tour. Two very roomy stories and an attic. The couple, Natalie and Gabrielle, lived in the attic surprisingly, leaving the entire rest of the house a free roam territory for the live-ins. There were actually three bedrooms, but one was being used as a sort of a second living room, just on the second floor. It had a television, massive bean bag chairs and several assorted toys scattered about. Beyond that, it was blandly decorated with a neutral paint tone and carpeting. The room Amy presented to me as my new bedroom was not a bad size at all. She made it pretty clear that a bed and desk would be provided by the time I moved my own stuff in.

Ashley dragged me away from her galloping sister with a kind gesture to follow her for the rest of the tour. Strangely, she showed me their bedroom. A very girly quarter’s with a bunk bed, littered with dolls and other assorted toys. Books too; and lots of them. In the corner were three six foot tall, three foot wide bookshelves, overflowing with books. Oddly enough, almost all of them looked like textbooks.

There were two full bathrooms, one upstairs, one down, and the living room inspired me most. A gigantic flat panel television with the softest, most plush couches I have ever had the opportunity to touch. They gave me a quick and giggly experience of their surround sound system that I nearly wet myself over. It literally sounded as if I were inside the scene, absolutely no discrepancies that would even give the slightest hint that the sounds were coming from a speaker, even with my ever increasing critical ears. The girl’s kicked away Wii and Xbox 360 controllers on the floor and joined me in being eaten by the amazingly comfortable couch.

Beside the lack of punch in the color schemes or just overall structure of the home, everything about its existence screamed money. And everything about the two excited girls watching me screamed that it was all theirs.

Natalie set down the main dish in the center of the table. A steaming ceramic bowl filled with fried chicken fillets. The side dishes included mashed potatoes, corn, tator tots, green beans, butter glazed rolls, and stuffing. It was a meal for made for ten people and served to five. Gabrielle seemed to catch my thought.

“We normally don’t make so much food, but Amy specially requested it on account that she would be bringing a twenty year old male home.” Emotions layered her face like several transparencies on an overhead projector all adding up to one picture. A hint of curiosity, a gleam of uncertainty; a touch of concern, and a suspect of distrust. I chose to say nothing over telling her the child came to me and not the other way around. Both of the house owners seemed barely into their thirties and had a like beauty only thwarted by the girl across me who appeared much closer to my own age.

As Natalie sat down, she announced that we could start. About midway into my first helping of chicken, I finally gathered the courage to solve the dilemma in my mind.

“Uuh, Ashley, how old are you?” As soon as I said it, I wished I hadn’t. All four female’s eyes turned and absorbed my nervous face. All four of them looked to the only male, adult male, at the table who just asked how old an obvious young teenage girl was, like the answer that followed would determine whether or not it was okay to make advances on her.

“I’m fifteen.”

“Oh… How old is Amy?”

“I told you already, I’m thirteen,” the little girl pouted.

I ignored this and kept my focus on Ashley.

“She is.”

“What grade are you in?” I asked Amy with new interest.

“I’m going into fourth when the school year starts.”

“Thirteen year olds don’t go to fourth grade.”

“Well, I do, so shows how much you know.”

“She is thirteen,” Ashley interjected. “She was born too soon after me, so they put her in stasis for about four years as a newborn. So she is thirteen years old, and going into the fourth grade.”

I just stared at her hoping she would get the point that I didn’t believe it and tell me the truth rather than trying to make me look like a fool.

“We have the birth certificate,” Natalie affirmed to me. “It says nothing about stasis or of the such, but legally, she is thirteen years old. We can’t explain it really. No one will to us. Surprisingly, everyone just seems to look the other way when or if it’s brought up.” She stopped talking as I caught Ashley glaring to her.

We all continued eating silently for several more minutes.

“Will you be spending the night?” Gabrielle asked me.

“Oh, um no. Was just invited over for dinner.”

“You can spend the night-”

“Where are you staying?” Ashley interrupted and overvoiced her sister.

“Uh, a few miles to the other side of the park.”

“With friends or family?” she asked.

“Uh no, it’s actually a motel until I find a place.”

“Did you need a ride so you don’t have to walk?”

“You can stay here tonight!” Amy finally input.

“Or yes, you can stay here tonight. Get a feel of the place. The offer is still up. You can live here. Be nice to have an actual male around the house. Free room and board for as long as you stay so you won’t need a job just to get by. Focus more on school.”

“Actually, I don’t go to college. More of kinda do my own research on my own time.” I couldn’t help but catch the two owner’s shifting eyes between each other at hearing their fifteen year old female occupant offer a twenty year old male free living one bedroom away.

“Really, what kind of research do you do?”

I set my fork down defeated from continuing my meal at the time.

“Well, I freelance grant papers. I pick up on whatever interests me and research that field, then write a paper asking for money from the government or a large corporation for its cause. The company or institution gets a few hundred thousand dollars or so, and then pays me for my work. Anything from astronomy to zoology or sociology, psychology… Kinda picked it up from my parents.”

“Neat,” Amy replied with an authentic look of approval. And giving me a little more confidence in the fact that I lived in a motel, Natalie, Gabrielle, and noticeably Ashley seemed to all find it to be ‘neat’ as well.

I picked my fork back up.

“What do you two do?” I asked Natalie and Gabrielle hoping they had an answer that wouldn’t make me look stupid – like renting out their house to two girls for a living.

“Well, recently we started up an interior design company. Moreso gives us something to do with our free time. Running this place doesn’t take as much time and energy as we thought it would. The girls like neutral colors if you haven’t noticed; otherwise the house would have a bit more flavor.”

–

Beyond the entire fact that nothing going on inside the walls of the house seemed normal, everything felt relatively – normal. There was all the obvious flaws in a traditional social structure, but whatever they had going, worked. Natalie and Gabrielle were legal parents to Ashley and Amy, but Ashley and Amy were just, and appearingly, well paying customers to Natalie and Gabrielle. It was weird, wrong, and confusing, but it seemed fun; something different.

About an hour after dinner, I finally got the courage to take my leave. Ashley’s intoxicating presence made it near impossible, but I forced it. Amy kind of pushed me too. Slowly, she somehow had crept her way up to my arm and was next to me latched on. For a self-proclaimed thirteen year old girl, she was sure acting like the nine year old she looked, and a little male starved.

Natalie drove me to my hotel. In the parking lot, I stayed seated in the car for a few extra moments.

“So,” I asked, “any advice? You live with them. Is it wise to get tangled up with them?”

“Well,” she answered with a little reluctance and a little enthusiasm, “life is different with them. I mean, we technically are their guardians but they won’t have anyone controlling them. However, the two by themselves seem to do very well. No trouble or anything. They just utilize us for things they can’t or don’t want to do. We’re kind of like nannies, without much to do.”

I sat there thinking some in silence before she spoke again.

“Look, you’re twenty and their thirteen and fifteen,” she said thirteen with a bit of unwillingness, “and you’ll be the only guy in the house if you decide to move in. I just ask that you make your decision based on a responsibility and maturity. They give you a lot of attention and it’s not going to go away if you’re in the bedroom next to them. You’ll have them on your back day and night, when their happy, and angry.”

“Have they done this before? You know, invited somebody else?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

“Do you want me to live with you?” I suddenly asked with curiosity. Natalie took a heavy breath.

“Ashley and Amy weren’t our first customers. Before them, we rented out two bedrooms and ourselves occupied the third. We mostly catered to people passing through, staying only a week or two. Then they came along. They were quick to rent both rooms available. Time and events passed and we adopted them. You know about the whole under the table terms of it. Slowly by their generous inquisitions, their new furniture began replacing ours. There was some remodeling done by their request and generously increasing rent. And then they suggested that we redue the attic and move up there, giving us each our own personal space of sorts. And ultimately, by the original contract which I’m near positive was forged, they are renting the rights to the room and therefore, have such to accept new occupants who do not violate the terms. You don’t, and so I have no say in the matter.”

“If you don’t want them to stop paying you, that is.” Both of us were startled by what I had just said. I really didn’t mean to speak my mind. “Sorry, I honestly don’t care about your motives, as honorable as they are. It’s not my business and blatantly, you all seem to know what you’re doing and nobody is being hurt.”

“I won’t lie to you because I respect your intelligence. I can’t claim that money isn’t involved in our relationship, otherwise such as it is would not exist. They wouldn’t allow it. But as it is, the only way to care for them is to accept their money and provide them with the best living arrangements possible, so they are not drawn elsewhere outside the supervision of the only ones I myself can trust to two little girl like them.”

“I one-hundred percent agree with where you’re coming.” I sat silently for a few seconds then, trying to word a closing statement. “I promise that I’ll take everything you’ve said into account on my decision and will try to base my decision on an equal responsibility and maturity as you have shown me.” Eh, good enough.

The conversation ended and I left the car. I ran my thumb up my pants pocket to feel the piece of paper with their phone number on it and walked to my door. I felt weird walking away from that talk. It was rare that I communicated with someone as self-assured as her. But I liked it, though at the same time felt a little queasy; felt like she could see right through me. See that though she was motivated by money, I was stimulated by the next worse thing.

—

I stayed up the entire night in thought. Thinking over and over again the consequences of each choice. I had to find a place to live somewhere and sometime soon. Living in a motel was extraordinarily expensive, at least the one I chose. One side was clearly taking the lead before I finally fell asleep to the constant agony I would feel in hating myself if I ended up moving in with some frat wannabe boys, and had to live with the missed opportunity of at least trying out living with free room and board. Clearly the entire situation was a once in a hundred lifetimes kind of deal.

I woke up the next morning at my usual time. Despite the long hours lost to thought the night before, I felt more awake than most days. Even if I was still consciously weary, my subconscious had already decided. But I didn’t want to call them so soon. I didn’t even know what to say to them, ‘uh, yes, I would like to live with you for free.’

I resorted to heading out to the park with my book. I knew I couldn’t possibly read under the anxiety but I would still look better trying to read rather than doing nothing.

About a hundred feet from the bench I first met Amy at, I stopped. Looking to it, I was a bit saddened neither that she, nor her timid but rousing sister were in sight. That soon enough died though when a pair of grade-schooler’s arms flung around my waist as their attached torso hugged into my butt.

“Popscotch!…”

“Get off me.”

“Did you make up your mind?”

“Get off me.”

“Are you coming to live with us?”

“Get off me.”

“Aaaaah,” Amy began moaning as her fingers let go of me and she was pulled backwards. I turned around catching her sister Ashley tugging her by the head off of me.

“Sorry,” she said a little coyly, but with a confusing hint of authority.

We all three stood in an awkward silence for several moments.

“Um,” Ashley started with her soft, warm voice, “I guess we’ll let you alone to your book.” Amy was aggressively heaving on her arm. “You have our number if you decide.” She began to turn away from me.

“Uh, Ashley,” I motioned her back. It was the first time I had actually said her name aloud. Such a mediocre, dull, and overused name; but just hearing myself say it and her respond reshaped it into my most favored name ever. I said it and she looked at me; most amazing name in the world. “Uh, I guess if you really don’t mind, I could stay.”

“Really!” her eyes beamed at me. I knew next to nothing about her and she was five years younger than me, three years illegal, but something about what she just did to me made me want to do some not so public things in that all too public park. Perhaps it was because she was the first girl in my life that gave me attention whom I actually liked. Whatever it was, my stomach began churning; I began second guessing the real motive behind wanting to move in, had I really been mature and responsible in my decision. All from that one word she spoke to me.

That one word strangely seemed like the first word. Nearly as if everything she had ever said to me before was in a manner of stranger to stranger. Though this one first word felt different. Like in my agreeing to move in, she dropped her defenses and was now ready to get to know me. Something her younger sister greatly lacked.

“Yeah, but I can pay my share.”

“No, you’re free, we got you covered.”

“I really don’t want to be in your debt though.”

“You won’t be. We’ll be in your debt. Just having a new person around.” Ashley’s fingers were being squeezed red by her sister as she spoke to me.

“I got to do something to make it even though.”

“All you have to do is be yourself.” She apparently could see I wasn’t going to accept so easily. “Fine, if you want a chore around the house, thennn… you have to keep us company. Anddd… play with us.”

“And let us do what we want to you!” Amy interjected.

“Amy, no.”

“I just want to hug him. Do you know how hard it is growing up without any physical contact with a man? I’m going to be all messed up when I’m an adult because I was never cared for properly as a child.”

Ashley looked to me confused yet pleading.

“Do you want her to hug you? It’s up to you if you absolutely need to pay rent, that’s more than your money’s worth.”

Looking down to the little girl, I got a healthy impression that she was telling the truth. But on my more irresponsible side, having to put up with being touched all the time by that thing did appear to buy me some pity from her older sister. And pity meant attention.

“Alright.”

No sooner to pronouncing the ‘t’ then was Amy’s chest squeezing into my pelvis. I could hear her inhaling deeply, then exhaling.

“Has anyone ever told you that you smell Really Good?”

“No,” I responded watching Ashley roll her eyes.

“Did you want to move in today?” Ashley asked.

“You don’t have a bed yet though.”

“It’s being assembled now.”

I gave her a questioning look.

“We were getting one for the room anyways. We can pick up your stuff today if you want.”

“Okay,” I reluctantly replied. “Do I have to maintain contact with her twenty-four, seven?”

“Amy, get off him.”

“But he said-“

“Amy!”

The little arms unwrapped from around my back where I met a disappointed little face staring up at me.

“Can I hold your hand?”

“Yes,” I unwillingly accepted. She quickly intertwined our fingers together and pulled me in the direction of their home; probably expecting to lose that privilege if we weren’t walking together.

At their house, I was met with disappointed looks from Natalie and Gabrielle. It had to be either from me making my decision so soon, or just plainly, the decision I made.