square_the_circle_chapter_6_ crOwl square_the_circle_chapter_5_ "i'll take a bottle of jack!" tim yelled, as he watched kayla lead scott through the open door of their hotel room and out into the hallway. he ran his large hands through his black curls and then stretched his arms straight up, yawning. he followed kayla's ass until she disappeared. "take a cold shower!" she yelled back and slammed the door. seconds later, his face only appeared. "you could always join me." once more his eyebrows lifted as though pulled by taut strings. he snickered. kayla turned around, her hair whipping scott across one arm. she flashed tim a smile, followed by a stiff middle finger. "in your dreams." she thrust her other arm under scott's and gripped him by the forearm. tim pulled the door shut and his whooping hollar could be heard muffled inside the room. kayla laughed. "that's one crazy boy." scott didn't respond. kayla sensed his jealousy. "don't sweat tim," she said, stopping. a middle-aged couple holding hands walked past them. scott pulled away from her slackened hold and continued towards the ice machine, head down, dragging his feet, ignoring her. "he's innocent." scott opened the small metal door and peered inside. he paused. "i think it's broken. it's not even cold." kayla came over. scott made room for her. she shut it abruptly. "what's your fucking problem?" "it's nothing." he said, lifting his head and meeting her serious gaze. kayla stared into his eyes. scott looked away. he turned to the vending machines and fumbled in his back pocket for his wallet. "what would you like?" he asked, continuing to avoid her. he scanned the orderly rows of potato chip bags and candy bars. when kayla didn't answer, scott looked over at her. she was gone, on her way to the elevator. "where are you going?" she stood in front of it, her back to him, arms folded across her chest, hips shifted to the right, her left foot tapping the worn hotel carpet. she reached out and punched the down button. the doors slid open. she stepped in, still ignoring him, tossing her hair angrily. "kayla?" scott raised his voice slightly. "wait!" she could hear a pleasing urgency in his voice. he hurried over. she reached out and pressed the hold button just as the doors nearly shut. they hesitated and then reopened. "hurry up," she called out. "i'm thirsty." meanwhile, back in room 526, tim took kayla's advice and cranked the handles of the shower until he achieved a comfortable temperature. the water pressure was strong and the force of it pounded against the fiberglass tub with an invigorating and welcome sound. he yanked his sweatshirt/t-shirt combination over his head and off his thin, but muscular frame, revealing a plethora of tattoos across his torso, chest, and shoulders, all that suggested his affinity for mysticism. two labyrinths over his nipples, one around his navel. an ankh on his right arm, the eye of horus on his left. across his upper back was an elaborate mandala and on the lower back was the wheel of dharma. needless to say, he enjoyed gazing at his own reflection and did so as the water thumped. when the steam fogged up the mirror, he pulled off his grungy jeans, stepped out of his socks and slid down his plaid boxers. he checked the water again with an outstretched hand. it was perfect. he got in, letting the water work its magic on his bus seat sore muscles, drenching his head, cleansing the accumlation of travel dirt and sweat. he cracked open the hotel offered shampoo and lathered up his mop, digging at his thick curls with the little fingernails he hadn't yet bitten off. he closed his eyes and immediately thought of kayla, of their recent collision on the bed, her breasts straining against the confines of her shirt. he imagined unbuttoning the rest of the buttons. he saw her wriggling out of her jeans. the lace of her panties. his ran his soapy hands downwards to where he was already swelling. suddenly, he opened his eyes. he thought he heard something. he shut the water off. it dripped and then stopped. he stood there in silence except for the drops of water falling off his naked body, his soaking hair still full of suds and listened. there it was again. a knock on the door. "hold up!" tim yelled out. "i'm in the shower. i'll be right out." he grabbed a white towel, holiday inn scrawled across it in green letters, and hurridley sopped up his wet body, shampoo and all. it was a large towel and fit well around his waist. he stole a quick glance in the mirror, straightened his hair, and skipped to the door. he pulled down the handle and opened it. there was clara. in her hands, two bottles of stoli. 050105 ... unhinged 'where'd ya get ahold of that kid?' tim ushered her in the room and closed the door behind them. a frightened knot in her throat made it hard for clara to swallow. when he turned around to look for his bag, she noticed the tattoos on his back. they were beautiful in rainbow colors between and covering his shoulder blades and one above his ass that was half covered with the towel that was the only thing separating them. he turned back around quickly to head to the bathroom. 'why don't you chill while i get dressed?' the lump in clara's throat loosened slightly. she nodded. 'you could turn on the t.v. you know, whatever. i'll be right back.' suddenly he stuck his head back out the door and clara jumped slightly. 'hey kid, chill. i'm not a creep. i'm just a big talker. ya know?' she nodded again, but smiled slightly and moved to the bed to sit down. she looked for the remote and had only made it half way through the channels when he came back out, dressed. he sat on the other bed a comfortable distance from clara. 'so where'd you get those bottles kid?' clara glanced up at him and noticed a brotherly look in his eye that calmed her racing heart a bit. maybe she was young, but boys had been her area of expertise much sooner than most girls her age. anything to get a reaction from her parents, even if it was a baby of her own. she thought of eric, her older boyfriend in reno who tried to hook her on meth. tim looked like eric. maybe it was only the tattoos, maybe it was the crooked smile. suddenly she was smacked in the face with a pillow. 'man, you were in another world there. where'd ya go?' 'you remind me of someone that's all. i got the vodka from our car. well, our room. my mom can't stand without at least three drinks a day. especially when my dad's not around.' 'that sucks kid.' she nodded. kayla grabbed for scott's hand in the elevator. 'scott....' he took her hand but still wouldn't look at her. 'scott...come on. i mean none of this makes any sense. but tim is nothing. i swear. he just reminds me of...what i used to be. what i'm comfortable being. maybe i don't want to be that anymore...ya know?' scott pulled her to him silently and kissed her. they didn't even hear the elevator open in the lobby. 050105 ... crOwl it was relief he felt, her lips on his, this touch of velvet she was giving him, not letting go. he was no longer spinning, unable to walk, like a child on a merry-go-around riding a horse that can't move, but now the world was stopping. the circle had ceased to turn. and here was kayla. she was there when all had stopped revolving. he never wanted to stop kissing her. he wanted to live this way. eyes closed. seeing in the darkness he seemed to be flying in. giving and taking simultaneously. the elevator doors shut and he put both of his trembling hands on the side of her face. she pulled away for one moment to tell him he was shaking. he told her he knew. and so he kissed her smile because she was happy. when they stopped he held her, heard her wet breath in his ear, and then they kissed again in a closed elevator not moving in the middle of nowhere while snow fell outside. timelessly they embraced and when the elevator doors slid open their lips parted only a fraction, as if someone had opened a book and found a picture of them inside. "sorry," a slightly paunchy man said. he was wearing a baseball hat with a 'b' on it and was holding the hands of his two children, both young girls about 6 and 4. the older one grimaced when she saw scott and kayla kissing. the younger one was holding a small pillow with a big flower on it. embarrassed, they separated, and scott took her hand and led her out into the lobby. as the little family stepped inside the elevator, kayla looked at scott. they laughed hard and then scott looked quickly around. he saw an open door, grabbed kayla's hand, and ran over towards it, past several groups of people heading off in different directions. it was an empty conference room. seeing no one inside he rushed her in. she followed. he closed the door. "where's kayla and that other guy, um, i forget his name?" clara asked. the braces on her teeth gleamed in the lamplight. she was fidgeting with the label of one of the stoli bottles, tearing at a loose edge with a pink painted fingernail. she sat on the edge of the bed, her small, freshly shaved white legs held tightly together for her black skirt was short, riding precariously up her thighs. she was wearing a small pink and white t-shirt that hugged her over developing body, revealing a generous amount of cleavage everytime she moved forward. tim had remembered her from the rest stop in indiana, coming out of the bathroom, how hot she was, and now that she sat there before him, her punky colored hair falling seductively around her face, her lips glistening with fruity lip gloss, her overuse of perfume, he could feel the heat forming in his crotch. "oh, you mean scott?" tim said, reality hurtling back at hyper speed. "yeah," clara giggled and for a brief second her legs parted and tim's eyes darted downwards like a magnet to catch her bermuda triangle of white. following his gaze, she resettled herself and crossed her legs. "um, they went to get some ice and shit," tim said, looking away to the television. a local news channel was on and he saw images of the snow, flashing lights of tow trucks and state police cars. he looked back over at clara. she was once again scraping at the label. fuck, tim thought. she is so fucking gorgeous. but he realized how young she was. damn, she's a kid. i could go to fucking jail for this shit. he stood up and walked over to the window and yanked the drapes open. anything to distract himself from the gravity that was pulling him to doing something he knew would be a horrible mistake. he saw the snow piling up, falling with an abandon that mirrored the feeling swirling in his brain. fuck it, he thought. "hey kid," he said, drawing the drape closed, walking over to where a set of cups rested on the dresser wrapped in sterile plastic. "let me crack open one of those bottles." he tore at the covering of two of the cups and then set them on the night stand between them. clara handed him one of the bottles and set the other one down on the bed. she uncrossed her legs and inched a bit forwards, running one hand through her hair. a fresh sledgehammer of her perfume slammed tim in the face. he twisted the cap. it popped open. he poured two fingers for both of them and then a bit more. he handed her a cup. she reached for it, smiling without opening her mouth. she hated her braces. "a toast to the snow," tim said. their plastic cups thudded together. 050106 ... unhinged it was obvious to clara that tim was more of a creep than he thought. she was used to older guys, the way they tore her up with their eyes. she knew by now how they squirmed, the subtle and not always so subtle body language. she thought sometimes her braces were the only thing that saved her. the only clue to how old she really was. if they would have had a warning label on meth that said '#1 side effect is premature aging' she figured most of the pretty plastic girls in reno would avoid it. as it was, most of them did it to stay skinny. too much thinking about meth made clara's skin itch. she focused back on tim. 'hey man, you got anymore pot? kayla told me she got high with you back at that rest stop.' tim's gaze quickly darted towards clara. 'maybe. why?' 'why do you think dumbass?' she glanced around the room and noticed an ashtray on the table in between the beds. 'looks like it's a smoking room.' she slyly wriggled on the bed and tossed her head just so slightly. he got up and went to the window again. so much like eric; he even fought when she tried to seduce him like eric. and then she thought sometimes her braces hurt her. they were the only clue as to how old she was. scott laid kayla on one of the big white tables in the conference room. she grabbed his shoulders. she slid off the table onto the floor, 'tables were never my thing.' she flashed him another one of her smiles and he shuddered. she gently pushed him away and took his hand. 'maybe we should...oh shit.' he looked at her alarmed. 'what's wrong?' 'clara. tim.' they both got up and walked hurriedly to the elevator. 050106 ... crOwl "what are you so worried about?" scott asked kayla. she had pushed the up button and they were waiting for the doors of the elevator to open. "you said tim was innocent." "i don't know," she said. she ran both hands through her hair, straightening it from when scott had laid her down on the conference room table. "i just have a bad feeling if they should get together while we're gone. i'm sorry, it's just that, well, i kind of feel partly responsible for clara, you know." "what do you mean?" kayla gave him a sideways look like he was stupid. "the bathroom at the rest stop? duh?" "so you DID have sex with her?" "dude, we kissed. alright? JESUS, scott. that was it." scott leaned back, clasped both hands behind his head and sighed. the elevator doors opened but it was completely full. several passengers dared her with their eyes to get in. "whoa," kayla said. "let's ride the other one." she let the doors close and pressed the up button on the other side. they waited. "why did you do it?" "what?" "make out with clara?" "i was fucked up." the vodka was hot on clara's throat and she coughed and choked slightly, swallowing it like medicine her mother gave her when she was sick, gulping and nearly gagging. she wriggled about on the bed and overplayed it, giggling and shouting, "whoo!" then she pinched her nose and downed the rest of it, already feeling a sense of lightheadedness. she hadn't eaten since breakfast and that was just a krispy creme. she reached for the bottle and filled her plastic cup halfway. she proceeded to down half of that. tim had his back turned over at his carry on bag. he had found his sack of nuggets and was breaking them up with his fingers. he yanked a rizza from the pack of papers and started rolling. "ooohhh...i smell skunk, baby!" clara yelled. tim looked back. clara had the cup to her lips. he watched her throw her head back. she smacked her lips. tim could already see a slight glassiness to her heavy-lidded eyes. "want... some?" she asked, holding up the bottle. her legs had relaxed and she opened them enough for tim to see. he held up his cup and shot it down his throat. yeah, i want some, he thought. "i'll be right there." "what the fuck?" kayla said, frustrated. "where's the elevator?" she crossed her arms and kicked the steel doors. "there's a lot of people in this place," scott said. he looked around. suddenly, he noticed their bus driver. he seemed to catch scott's gaze at the same time and began making his way towards them, holding up his hand, as if he wanted him to wait. the doors slid open. kayla walked in, but scott hesitated. "come on, scott!" she urged. "wait." "why?!" she held the door open with her body and saw the bus driver approaching. she relaxed for a moment and even smiled slightly to acknowledge him. "sorry to bother you guys, i know you're tired and all, but i was wondering if you two have any computer experience?" scott looked at kayla. she shrugged her shoulders and tilted her head in agreement. "a little," she said. "what's up?" scott asked. tim rolled a fatty and fired it up. he sucked in deep, his cheeks hollowing. a thick cloud of acrid smoke began to fill up the room, as he hit it again. he brought it over to clara, who had refilled her cup and had it to her lips when tim sat down beside her. "damn, kid!" he handed her the joint and picked up the first bottle of stoli. it was already half gone. "you're a fucking fish." she threw back her head, swallowed her drink and held the cup in her teeth. he could see her glazed eyes behind it saw her braces gleaming in the lamplight around the rim. in slow motion she fell back on the bed, parting her legs, holding the burning joint out to the side. tim looked down at her body. her skirt had risen, completely exposing her white panties. tim was hard as a rock. she came back up slowly and hit the joint. the smoke curled around her face and into her eyes. she squinted and coughed and handed it back to him. "dude, that's killer." she slurred her words. tim thought they sounded thick as honey. she took the bottle from him and clumsily spilled it on her shirt and skirt. "oops, oh fuck!" she said, and began to laugh. she stood up from the bed and fell face first on the other one. the bottle, empty, rolled on to the floor. tim watched her, feasting on the generous show he was giving him of her ass. she twisted and squirmed and then sat down on the edge. "i'm all wet," she pouted. she held her hands against her breasts and pushed downwards to her belly and then lower. "ewwww," she said, her head lolling to one side and then the other. "it's so icky." "maybe you should take those wet clothes off," tim suggested, hitting the fatty. "it's my powerbook," the driver said. "i'm having some trouble with it. think you guys could take a quick look." kayla looked at scott, her eyebrows lifting. scott was perplexed. "i don't know," he said. "i don't have a laptop." but kayla did. she was a whiz at rebooting. "it's probably nothing." the bus driver said, hunching his shoulders. kayla walked out of the elevator. "where is it?" she asked. 050107 ... unhinged 'why don't you help me get them off?' she staggered over to tim and fell into his arms. she pressed her body against his as she slowly slid down to the ground. tim caught her just before she hit the ground. 'woah kid. woah.' he picked her up and held her underneath her armpits at arm length away from him. 'what?' she burped. her vision was blurry. 'you think i don't notice how you look at me? you think i'm stupid just cause i'm a kid? well i'm not really a kid you know....' 'ok ok ok clara. you need to take it easy.' tim set her on the bed nearest the door. 'take what easy damnit? you want me. don't try to act like you don't. i was just doing you a favor.' she began to slump forward. gravity and all the depressants in her system kept drawing her closer and closer to the ground. she was close to falling off the bed. 'i told you clara. i'm not a creep like that. just a talker. but i can't help it that you're hot.' he avoided calling her a kid. it was obviously a sore spot. she turned to glare at him but her eyelids were too heavy. 'oh no...' he picked her up and carried her to the bathroom just in time for her to start heaving into the toilet. all the vodka she drank fifteen minutes before was finding it's way into the toilet bowl. he sat on the tub next to her and rubbed her back. he noticed there was not a speck of food in her puke. just watery thin puke that reeked of alcohol. he supported her with his leg so that it made it all in the bowl. the bus driver led them around the corner of the lobby to a small room off the front desk. he pulled the slim white laptop out of it's case and plugged it in. kayla sat down at the desk in front of it. the o.s. start-up screen went black. kayla turned the computer around and found a jellybean crammed into one of the usb ports. 'do you have kids?' she asked the bus driver as she picked pieces of the jellybean out of the port. 'uummm...yeah. i really don't look at the back of the thing much' the driver was blushing. 'it's cool. it should start better now.' kayla smiled widely at him. 'but just in case that wasn't it, i'll try to start it up again and make sure it goes on before i leave.' she manually shut off the computer and turned it back on. the hd repair screen came up. 'there ya go sir. that jellybean was definitely the problem.' she pushed her seat away from the table. 'thanks so much miss...what's your name?' 'kayla.' they shook hands. 'george. well i'm gonna be checkin the weather to see about tomorrow. chances are though we'll be holed up in this place for one more whole day. the authorities around here weren't ready for this storm. the roads will probably still be a mess. i don't like to gamble with peoples' lives.' scott piped up 'no problem george. we at least understand.' they all three shook hands one last time and kayla and scott headed back towards the elevator. the first elevator that came to the lobby was empty this time. kayla pushed five and nervously tapped on the wall. she pushed past the doors as they opened, impatient to get back to the room. scott followed after her wearily. he had a feeling a scene was waiting at the room for them. he only half hoped it wasn't a naked scene. kayla was pounding on the door when he caught up to her. 'open the door tim....what do you mean you can't? SHE'S WHAT?! and why exactly is she puking tim? let us in. NOW.' 050107 ... crOwl square_the_circle_chapter_7_ 050108 ... a must read red blathe . 050730 what's it to you? who go blather from