Page 32 of Barbed Wire Fences
The lake behind our trailer park isn’t much, but it feels comfortable and familiar to me on nights like this. But it’s pitch black out here and I can hardly see which means despite it being one of our favorite places to hang out, I’m on edge.
If Rhett doesn’t show up soon, I’m gonna scream.
The creek our town was named after—a glorified river this time of year, swollen from weeks of heavy rain—pours into the lake on one end and trickles out the other. It’s not huge, not by a long shot, but it’s big enough. Big enough for people from town to fish off its edges or for the occasional boaters to glide lazily across its surface on a sticky summer evening.
Thankfully, it’s not quite summer yet, and it’s already past ten at night. No one’s here now. No one except me. My mom is long gone for her night shift at the bank, and my dad... well, he’s doing whatever it is that he does with whoever he does it with, God knows where.
It’s not uncommon for me to slip out of the trailer once my mom’s gone to work and my dad assumes I’m asleep or forgets that I even exist. The truth is, even if either of them did come home and realize I wasn’t there, they wouldn’t care enough to look for me. That’s just the way it’s always been.
The thought makes my stomach tighten, but it’s gone the second that Rhett steps out from behind one of the tall trees at the water’s edge. It looks like he was waiting for me, debating whether he should even do this. Rhett normally looks calm and confident but there’s a nervous edge to him tonight. The moonlight cuts across his face, catching the edges of his jaw and cheekbones, and the faintest smile tugs at his lips.
“Okay, creepy. How long have you been standing there?”
He grins. “Only for about five minutes. I wanted to see if you’d run. Ready for sex-ed class?”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t make me any more embarrassed than I already am.”
“Well class is in session, Jael, and I’m your teacher today. Remember that. That means you show me respect.”
I snort. “Okay, Mr. Miller.”
“You know what, I like that.” He stretches out his hand toward me and I realize he’s holding an old banana in his palm.
I wrinkle my nose. “Why did you bring that? It looks like it’s been sitting on your mom’s counter for the last three weeks. Infact, I’m pretty sure I saw that one there last week and it was already black.”
“I brought it for practice. I’m going to demonstrate to you how to give a good hand job. Don’t worry, it’ll stay peeled. Both bananas,” he says winking as he nudges it my way again. “Take it.”
I sigh and roll my eyes but take the overly ripe banana anyway.
“Okay, now take it in your hand. You want to grip it firmly, but not too firmly.”
I wrap my fingers around the width of it in a way that I think gives the perfect amount of pressure.
“Jael, you’re squishing it.”
“It’s one hundred years old. I can’t help it. It’s too soft.”
He smirks. “That’s what she said.”
I roll my eyes. “Are sex-ed teachers this immature?”
“No. Not stay focused and try again.”
I attempt another hold. Right pressure, check.
“Okay, how does this look?” I ask, shoving the blackened banana in his face.
“Yeah, that seems okay. And then you’ll provide movement up and down with firm, but not harsh or aggressive pressure. Try to keep it even. You don't want to rip the skin off, but you don’t want to be too gentle, or the guy won’t feel it.”
I do my best to follow his instructions, medium pressure, upward movements and then back down, but the old banana starts to crack at the corners, and bits of the mushy insides spill out from between the peel.
“Ew. This is disgusting and now my fingers are all sticky.”
He rolls his eyes, looking at the mess I've made, then tosses it, peel and all into the lake. “If that grosses you out, how are you going to handle touching a dick?”
“A hard banana would have been a better idea. Can’t you just show me with yours? So, I can see what I’m in for?”
Rhett’s eyes widen as he takes a step backward. “Whoa now. You’ve never seen a dick before?”
