A Horse In The Dugout

She stuck her chest way out. Her loose breasts swayed under the sweater, and a pair of hard points poked through at the tips. Darien laughed.

"Iris, what are you doing?" Maria said.

"What? He doesn't mind," Iris said, pointing at Ethan.

"I don't, really," Ethan said, and smiled. Darien laughed again.

"You shouldn't tease him like that," Maria said.

"Why not? What is he, a puppy dog? Is he gonna bite me?"

"I don't bite," Ethan said.

"That's too bad. I do." Iris looked down at his lap before his hands could cover it. "Besides, Maria, this poor boy was turned on when we got in the car."

Ethan looked away. Iris laughed and slapped his shoulder.

One of the carhop girls brought the food out on a tray. Darien passed out the food and the mugs of rootbeer. Ethan set the cold mug on the floor between his feet and the onion rings on the seat between him and Iris, where she put her french fries. The backseat was too cramped for him to move his elbows without hitting Iris or the side of the car. He wasn't sure he could eat it, at least not without making a mess.

In the front seat, Darien stuffed a bacon double cheeseburger in his mouth. Maria had a plain kid's size chicken sandwich, no cheese, no sauce. She removed the only piece of lettuce and took a tiny bite.

Ethan opened the footlong box and lifted the end. It sagged in the middle and the chili and mustard and onions sagged over the sides of the bun. His mouth watered. He pulled it toward the open end of the box. An inch or two hung over the end and he took a bite.

"Aw shit," Iris said.

"What?" Maria said, looking back from the front seat.

Iris pulled at the wide V neck of her sweater, baring her breasts to her nipples.

"I just got mustard on my tit."

Maria made an ugly face. Darien laughed out loud, spitting tiny bits of food on the dashboard. Iris looked at Ethan and smirked. His eyes locked on the yellow glob running down between her large breasts. She scooped it up with her finger, licked it off, and laughed.

"You look so funny. Did you like that?" she said.

"Yeah, I did," Ethan said, choking on his own voice. His jeans were uncomfortably tight.

Iris stuck her tongue way out and ran it the entire length of the hot dog, licking off all the mustard.

"Iris, that's so gross," Maria said.

"Give me a break. That's not gross. This is gross." Iris lifted the hot dog out of the bun, put the end between her lips and slid it all the way into her mouth. She pulled it out again and smiled at Ethan. "I didn't like the bun anyway," she said, and licked the last bit of mustard off the end, swirling her tongue in circles.

Maria groaned and shook her head. Darien laughed. He looked at Ethan and laughed even harder. Iris plopped the hot dog back on the bun and dropped it on the seat between them.

"You want a bite of mine?" Ethan said, and turned the open end of the box toward her.

"Sure," she said.

She brushed her hands together, leaned toward him, and put one hand on his leg. She opened her mouth wide, looking into his eyes, stuck her tongue out past her lips, and sunk her teeth into the coney dog. She moaned softly, too, and Ethan swallowed. His mouth was watering.

Iris wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Is that all I get?" she said.

"What else do you want?"

She glanced at his lap and smiled. "I could think of something."

"Stop it, Iris. Leave the poor boy alone," Maria said.

"Yeah, don't tease him unless you're gonna get his rocks off," Darien said.

Iris crossed her arms and looked at Ethan with a smug smile. "I never said I wouldn't."

Ethan finished his coney dog in silence, intensely aware of Iris watching him. She ate her french fries one by one, like a treasured delicacy. Darien finished his burger, and Maria took only a few tiny bites of her chicken sandwich.

Ethan wiped his mouth with a napkin. Darien collected all the trash, dumped it on the tray hanging from his window, and punched the pickup button.

"Anyone want a Tic-Tac?" Maria said.

"Yeah, I'll have one," Iris said, and held out her hand. She looked at Ethan. "Why don't you have one, too?"

He started to say no, but Maria held the Tic-Tac box out for him and he stuck his hand out. She tapped a pair of wintergreen candies into his palm. He popped them in his mouth and smiled at Iris.

A different carhop girl came out to pick up the tray. She was tall and skinny and had long red hair, and her A&W shirt was a little tight, showing the points of her nipples at the tips of her bouncing breasts.

"You think she's hot?" Iris said.

"What?" Ethan said.

The girl took the tray off the car window and walked back to the building. Her slacks were tight, as well, showing the lines where her panties cut into her ass.

"I said do you think she's hot?"

"She's all right."

"She's a bitch," Darien said. "I know her. She's a real bitch."

"Darien, that's not nice," Maria said.

He snorted. "What do you know?"

Iris watched the girl with the red hair go through the door into the building and looked at Ethan.

"You want to fuck her, don't you?" she said.

Ethan shrugged. "I wouldn't mind."

"You like her ass?"

"She's got a nice ass."

Iris covered her breasts with her hands and squeezed. "Do you like her tits more than mine?"

Ethan studied her chest and shook his head.

"No, your's are nice."

"Nice, Jesus, what a gentleman," Iris said. "Come here, give me a kiss. I wanna see if you taste fresh."

"What?"

"Kiss me, on the mouth. What's the matter, you never kissed a girl before?"

Ethan shrugged. "Sure. Lots of times."

"He's a virgin," Darien said.

"Shut up," Ethan said. He wished he would stop saying that.

"Darien, don't say stuff like that," Maria said.

"It's true."

Iris grinned. "A virgin? How sweet. Come on, kiss me."

Ethan puckered, closed his eyes, and gave her a quick peck on the lips. Her eyes popped open.

"What the hell was that?"

"A kiss."

Iris frowned. "That was no kiss. That's how you kiss your Mom. Open your mouth. I'll show you a kiss."

Ethan hesitated. Iris slid closer. Her right hand slipped around the back of his neck. She tilted his head to one side and touched her lips to his. He sucked in his breath. The blood surged in his ears, like the roar of the surf at the beach. Her lips parted. The moist tip of her tongue touched his lips and his mouth opened.

Their lips smacked. Her wet tongue slithered into his mouth. She moaned softly, and she groaned from deep within. Her tongue found his and teased it in his mouth. Her fingertips touched his knee and moved slowly up his thigh. Ethan tried to back himself away, but he was already pressed against the side of the car. Her hand found the hard bulge in the leg of his jeans and squeezed.

Iris broke away suddenly and gasped.

"That's what I meant by a kiss," she said. Her hand rested on the lump of his erection. "Wasn't that much better?"

"Yeah," Ethan said, choking on his own voice.

She chuckled. "I think you got my Tic-Tac."

"I think I swallowed it," Ethan said, and chuckled, too.

"Are you two finished?" Darien said.

Iris sat back on her side of the seat. Her hand stayed on his leg, and her fingertips moved lightly on his erection.

"No. Let's go someplace so I can teach this boy how to kiss right," Iris said, smiling at Ethan.

"Iris, are you crazy?" Maria said. "You have a boyfriend. You can't go make out with another guy."

"Jesus, Maria, relax. Bobby won't mind as long as he doesn't know."

"I think I know a place," Darien said. He started the car. "I got a bottle of vodka in the trunk, too. We can get ripped."

"A bottle of what?" Ethan said.

Iris snickered and leaned closer. "Get me drunk and you're halfway there, dude," she said.

Darien drove across town to Lathrup Park, a softball field by the railroad tracks. In the parking lot were only a couple of other cars. In one was a man and a woman. The other car was empty. Darien parked facing west, where the sun was turning a rich orange and touched the tops of the trees. He got out, opened the trunk and came back with a bottle in a brown paper bag. He twisted off the cap, took a quick sip and passed it back to Ethan.

"Enjoy, just don't drink it all," he said.

Ethan sniffed the open end. It smelled like the alcohol Mom kept in the medicine cabinet. He sipped and coughed. The stuff was awful.

"Give it here," Iris said with a laugh. She snatched the bottle from his hand and tilted it to her lips. She swallowed a couple of times, lowered the bottle and licked her lips. "That's good," she said and handed the bottle to Darien.

"My brother got it for me," he said. "He's pretty cool. He'll do anything for me."

He took another drink. Maria just watched, no expression on her face. Ethan wondered what she was thinking.

He took the bottle from Darien again, held his breath and took a sip. It was still awful and he coughed.

"Dude, you gotta learn how to drink. You can't be a part of the team if you can't hold your liquor," Darien said.

"I know," Ethan said, and wiped his mouth. His eyes teared up. He didn't want Darien to see that he didn't really know what he meant.

Iris drank as much as Darien every time the bottle came around. Maria drank none, and her expression never changed. Ethan tilted the bottle to his mouth and let a little more pour down his throat. It burned, but he swallowed and fought the urge to cough. He didn't want Darien to think he was a wimp.

Iris finished the bottle in a few big gulps. Her cheeks had a red glow and she was smiling like she had heard something very funny. She grabbed Ethan's hand.

"Come on, let's go over to that picnic table. I wanna show you how to make out," she said.

They all climbed out of the car and crossed the parking lot to the picnic table on the grass. Ethan walked behind everyone, hoping they wouldn't notice the bulge in his jeans. Iris kept trying to look at it, but he hid it with his hands.