First Kiss

"Mom! I'm home!" Faith yelled as she slammed her way inside. "Mom?" She called again. She didn't really expect an answer, but she yelled the same thing each day she came home from school or the streets, which ever she had chosen to run that day. She dumped her backpack on the floor and glanced around the front room. No mom.

She pulled out the contents of her pockets and dumped them on the messy coffee table in front of the sagging sofa she plopped down on. She toed off her scruffy basketball shoes and eyed her goodies.

"Let's see what we got."

School hadn't been on her agenda today; but the mall had been. God bless the rush of noon hour office shoppers. Made it so very much easier for her to shoplift. She grinned as she sorted through her stash.

"Not too shabby." She grinned.

Lipsticks, eyeshadows, and eyeliners, the best stuff for her, the rest to be sold to her clients at school. Hell, with a haul like today's, she just might have to go to school tomorrow. Jewelry went into another pile, she wouldn't want any of it; the good stuff was behind the counter and she couldn't get to it most days, the good stuff she got during her Saturday night breaking and entering forays into the better neighborhoods, and she took downtown to the seedier pawn shops to exchange for cash. This stuff, too, was for the girls and boys at school. She stood up and reached into her pants to pull out the handfuls of candy she'd gathered from various liquor stores on the way home. This she'd sell to kids in the neighborhood. Hey, a fifty-cent candybar for a quarter, wasn't a bad deal, and they were lucky to get it. Even if they were a bit smooshed. Candy smooshed was candy all the same.

"Yo, mom?" She shouted again, turning on the television. "I'm hungry! What's for dinner?"

She knew mom was passed out in her room, or with a man in her room, or not in her room at all, but she shouted the same thing everyday. She'd have peanut butter for dinner or walk to the McDonalds, selling candy on the way, or she just wouldn't eat. But it was habit to ask, and she really wasn't all that hungry. She'd had a small milk shake at the foodcourt, in order to short change the ditz at the register for a nice profit of ten dollars.

"Oh, my, but you're a pretty thing."

Faith looked up at the voice, startled. She wasn't used to being startled. For some reason she'd been able to sense people near her for as long as she could remember. She eyed the woman who had spoken with wariness. "Who the fuck are you?"

The woman, tall, blonde, and dressed like a hooker, well okay, Faith gave credit where credit was due, a *high priced* hooker, smiled sweetly at her. "My, you have a mouth like your mommy."

Faith glared. "I have a mouth like my *daddy*. And, again, who the *fuck* are you?"

"Oh, calm down, sweety. I'm just a friend of your mom's." She tilted her head towards the bedroom and smiled. "Your mom, is, um, asleep."

Faith snorted. "Passed out, you mean?"

The woman smiled. "Maybe." She raised her eyebrows and lowered her voice as if whispering a secret. "Could very well be that she's passed out."

"So, you'll be *leaving* now, then, right?"

"I should be, I guess. But I am kinda hungry, and your mother *did* tell me to make myself at home."

Faith only glared at her.

"Would you mind terribly if I invaded the kitchen and cooked us dinner?"

Faith's stomach rumbled at the thought. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'd mind. I don't know you from Jack, lady. You should just fuck off."

The woman laughed. "I like you, Faith. But we *have* met. Hell, I've changed your diapers. Even took care of you for two weeks when your mom dump-um, left you with me when you were a baby." She moved closer and held out her hand. "I'm Chris, like Christmas without all the angst and
crucifying."

Faith eyed the hand for several seconds before taking it in hers and shaking it briefly. "So *nice* to meet you," she offered with heavy sarcasm.

"Yes, and I *feel* the long lost love." Chris smiled at her. "But really, there's no need to hate me. Really. Promise, even." She winked at her. "What harm could me making dinner bring about?" When Faith remained silent she continued. "*I* know your mom, *you* know your mom, hell, we're like family, we are, us knowing all the same people and stuff."

Faith bit back a smile and glared at the woman. "Cook if you want. I could eat." She used her middle finger to motion towards the kitchen. "Kitchen's that way. Knock yourself out, lady."

"*Chris*." Chris emphasized her name.

Faith blinked at her. "*Faith*." She returned with a nod of her head.

Chris laughed, going into the kitchen. "Just like your mother, in her better, *younger* days."

Faith put her socked feet up on the coffee table and turned her attention to the sitcom rerun on tv, almost forgetting the unknown woman.

The unknown woman was back in seconds. "Faith, dear. We seem to have a problem."

Faith didn't look away from The Brady Bunch but offered a grunt.

"It seems your mommy has neglected to go food shopping."

Faith's head swiveled to look at Chris and she couldn't hold back her burst of laughter.

"And the funny part is?" Chris asked, her face a mask of bewilderment.

Faith took the time to snort. "What? You *really* thought you'd find food to *cook* in there? I just thought you were nuts or drunk like mom." She shook her head, still highly amused. "Really I did. What? You're for real? You want to *cook* dinner? Well, lady, if that's your-"

"Chris."

"-deal, I guess you'll have to go shopping." Faith finished, ignoring the interruption.

Chirs only smiled. "Well, your mom is out. And I mean *out*. But I'm guessing you know all about that, don't you?"

Faith only glared at her.

Chris smiled at her, all even white teeth and sparkling eyes. "What say you and I go *out* to eat?"

Faith only glared at her.

"Anywhere you want. Any place at all. Chinese, Italian, Indian, steak. . .whatever your heart desires."

Faith glared some more.

Chris looked comically cross and placed her hands on her hips with a sigh. "Now, see here, it's not everyday I offer someone anything their heart desires. Just like I'm sure it's not everyday you get such an offer, so what do you say? Me and you. You and me. Out. On a date. Eating tasty things. Drinking tasty drinks."

Faith's eyes widened. "You'll buy me a drink? Something big and fruity? With a cherry, maybe?"

"Sure. Do you like iced tea?"

"No."

"You'll like the one's from Long Island, I'll bet." She grinned. "Come on, let's go. We can have steak and lobster and tasty alcoholic beverages. Your mom won't even have to know we left the house."

"She *won't* know." Faith muttered, grabbing her shoes.

"Good, then. We won't have to bother telling her." Chris moved to retrieve a purse Faith hadn't noticed before now. She was only mildly upset at not having had the chance to pilfer it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Faith giggled. "My *mom* did that?" She stabbed her fork at a shrimp but missed, her fork sliding along her plate. She giggled more.

Chris poured more of her Long Island iced tea into Faith's glass. "Yes she did. Got us all into trouble."

"Really?" Faith smiled. "I juss'can see my *mom* doing some'thin li' tha." Faith speared the shrimp and quickly brought it to her mouth with a fork against teeth clatter. She chomped down, mouth mostly open as she chewed. "I jus' can't."

"Your mom was quite the girl." Chris told her with a smile.

"Really?" Faith took a gulp of her drink and grimaced. Her mind cleared for a moment, long enough for the bitterness. "So she wasn't always a
sorry drunk, then?"

Chris reached out her hand to cover Faith's clenched one. She rubbed her thumb across Faith's prominent knuckles. "No. No, she wasn't. I don't know when that happend. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner."

Faith snorted and took another gulp. "What could you have done?"

Chris squeezed Faith's hand, her face a mask of regret and sorrow. "I would have tried to have been there for you, Faith. I would have." She looked down, removing her hand from Faith's to take up her napkin and wipe her mouth. She brought both hands up to cover Faith's still clenched fist. She smiled sadly at the fourteen year old girl, bringing their hands up to her cheek. "I wouldn't have let you live like you've been living Faith." She kissed the girl's knuckles. "Your mother was my *best* friend; I tried to tell her not to go with that bast-um, with your father, but there was just no talking to her." She placed another kiss upon Faith's fingers. "I'll make it up to you. I swear, I'll try and make it up to you."

Faith, feeling lightheaded and a bit woozy, pulled her hand back. "Nothin' to make up." She smiled. "You didn't do anything. All blame goes to m' mom and dad. *They* fucked up." She giggled. "Fucked *me* up." She laughed, feeling an itch down her spine and turning to look at the booth a few feet away from them, she quirked an eyebrow at it's occupants. They were good looking, if too pale for her tastes, but something about them just *bothered* her. She shrugged and turned back to her companion, her taste for dinner and drink gone. "But, hell, I'm okay and like I said, not your concern, and no big deal. I say we head home. Mom's probably stumbled up looking for the bathroom and fallen in the hallway. And without her 'help me, I've fallen and I can't get up' bracelet, no tellin' what will happen."

"Are you sure you wouldn't like dessert? They have an ice cream brownie that will make you say uncle."

Faith snorted. "What does *that* mean?" She asked before she remembered she was being nice. "Um, I'm good." She drained her glass. "I just wanna go home." She looked back at the booth that had captured her attention but it was now empty. "Really, I just wanna go home."

Chris sighed. "Okay. If I can't tempt you with ice cream and brownie there's no help for you."

Faith was drunk. She knew it. She'd been drunk plenty of times before. Okay, never on a full stomach, and if this was drunk on a full stomach no wonder all the drunks hanging around on Fuller street were skinny. She was positive that if she had to vomit she'd rather it be just drink and bile
and *not* dinner with all the fixin's *plus* drink and bile. She swayed a bit but Chris moved close, wrapping and arm around her and pulling her close as she moved them out of the restaurant and into the fresh air.

Faith blinked into night air, the itching returning full force. Her head turned quickly and she spotted a group of men arguing near a pick up truck. She raised her arm and pointed, not sure why, but compelled to do so. "Hey! You! Get out of here!"

And they did.

She giggled, highly amused. "Did you see that, Chris?"

"I did." Chris leaned her against the car and opened the door. "You must be very scary, Faith."

"Humph. I must be. That'll be cool."

"Climb on in, oh scary one. Take a seat and buckle up."

Faith did as she was told and Chris bent down to make sure the seatbelt was secure. She smiled up a Faith. "All snug? Safe and sound?"

"Guess so." Faith smiled back. "Except for the whirling of the world and the need to throw up. But I won't. Throw up, I mean. Dinner was too good to just up-chuck it all over your nice car."

"Good girl." Chris shut the door with a satisfied grin.

She climbed in and started the engine, turning on the air conditioning full blast. Arctic, it seemed to Faith and she shivered. Chris smiled at Faith. "The cool air will make you feel better. I promise."

Two promises, Faith counted in her head.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When they pulled up in front of her house, Faith reached out and began to fumble with her seatbelt.

"It's okay, honey." Chris murmured, leaning over the girl. "Let me help you with that." She turned her head so that they were face to face. Faith leaned back.

"You had a nice time, didn't you?"

Dizzy still, Faith nodded her head. She swallowed. "Yeah."

"You should probably say thank you."

Faith's eyedenedened. Fuck, of *course* she should. "I'm *sorry*! Thank you very much. Really. It was *great* getting out and having dinner! Really it was." She leaned back more, as Chris seemed to be moving in even closer.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." She smiled. She grazed a hand along Faith's face, her thumb coming to rest along the girl's jaw while her fingers slid into her hair. "Perhaps a kiss wouldn't be amiss." Soft smile. "Hum?"

Faith, still wozzy, still drunk, really, couldn't come up with an 'amiss', not too sure she even knew what at 'amiss' *was*...besides the fact that she didn't want to, shrugged her shoulders and puckered her lips for the peck she was expecting.

When Chris's tongue reached out to run over her lips and her hands came up to hold Faith's head still for the assault of her lips and tongue Faith was frozen for a moment with no thought running through her brain save for the pounding "wrong, wrong, wrong" that echoed through out her entire being at the touch of the older woman's lips and tongue upon hers. Her inertia was broken with a burst of disgust and she pulled back spitting. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Sober now. Just that quick. That brutal.

Chris smiled. "Come on, what do you *think* I'm doing? Do you want to go somewhere else? I don't think we need to. Your mom will be out until morning. Late morning."

Faith laughed, honestly amused. With herself. She hadn't even suspected. Hadn't had a clue. She wiped her mouth. "I'm sorry." It slipped out. She didn't mean it really, it was what pushed out of her mouth, right from her stunned brain. Faith was sure she said it to herself, and would always remember it as something she told herself when that last bit of faith and hope had died inside.

"It's okay." Chris grinned, unsnapping her own seatbelt. "You can make it up to me."

Faith shook her head, still laughing. "No. I mean, I'm sorry you're some sick ass perv and I'm only just now getting it." She balled up her fist and drew back, thinking about her soon to be punch, building it, hoping she'd break the bitch's nose before letting fly.

The crunch of bone and cartilage, the feel of blood and the throb of pain were all much more satisfying than her first kiss had been. She turned to stomp off, but quickly turned back, leaning back into the car and vomiting up her shrimp and Long Island iced tea all over the nice leather seats. She reached for Chris's shirt to wipe her mouth.

"You go ahead and just leave. I'll tell my mom you said 'bye'." Faith coughed, spit onto the dirt walkway and headed inside, slamming and locking the door behind her.

Her itchiness was strangely sated.


end