They were always watching. That's what they do.

She knew he was watching.  He was always watching.  They all were.  Whether she was out on the porch roof tanning, or breaking in through the back window because she forgot her keys again.  Once she had hit 15, everything changed.  The drinking changed her.  Pathetically shy when she was sober, she was outrageously outgoing after a few drinks.  She realized that all men watched, realized the power she had as a woman child.  The more she drank, the more chances she took, the braver she was, the more attention she needed.  This one was different.  They were neighbors.  He was over 21, always had a lot of his friends over the house.  She wasn't included. Her parents would not have allowed it, and he idolized her father.  Looked up to him.  It was a challenge.  It seemed to be her new challenge.

She had given up on intellectual challenge, schoolwork was boring, she was a National Honor Society geek.  She'd lived in the shadow of her best friend Cori for years.  Cori who had boobs in the fourth grade. Had guys chasing her in middle school in her catholic school uniform.  Not her.  She started high school a painfully shy bookworm, her greatest challenge maintaining her straight A average.  By the end of her freshman year she was spiraling out of control, drinking, smoking and doing pretty much whatever.  She would swing from one extreme to the other.  Had to get that A to let's see who's attention she could get that night.

She knew he was watching.  She made a big deal out of dropping the mail. Ooops.  She'd have to bend over to pick that up.  Slowly exaggerating her movement.  Today would be the day.  He didn't seem to mind her hanging out, they'd smoke together and just chill out, but she couldn't seem to get him to make a move.  It annoyed her.  She knew it was because of her Dad.  He worried that her Dad would be mad at him.  But she also knew that like the rest, they could only take so much.  He was having a party that night.  So she went over that afternoon, they smoked for awhile and he was in the kitchen getting food ready.  She got tired of leaning against the counter, so she hopped up and sat. He looked, then turned back to his food prep.  She was just enough past worrying about rejection at that point, so she reached up and untied her bikini top and pulled it down.  It took a minute, but he turned around again and this timed stopped what he was doing...took one step towards her and said "you are going to get us both in so much trouble" just before he leaned in to kiss her.