You’ll look after her, right?
It was Friday night and Soda had just watched his kid brother leave for his first date, which felt weird. Especially considering he didn’t have a date tonight. He was thinking about his conversation with Ponyboy right before he left the house. He had been chattering on about how he felt weird going out with Cathy when he thought he might like someone else. The conversation left Soda wondering who had been talking about. At first he thought maybe Pony was talking about Cherry but the younger boy insisted it wasn’t, plus it sounded like it was a girl Ponyboy hung around fairly often. Maybe it was Kimmie? That would make sense because Pony probably thought Two-bit would be mad even though he would probably just be happy she wasn’t dating Curly Shephard.
Darry interrupted Soda’s thoughts by walking into the living room where Soda was sprawled out on the couch and Elsie was curled up in the armchair reading. “Evnin’ did Pony already leave for his date?”
“Hi, baby,” Elsie greeted as she made room for him to sit with her in the arm chair. “Yeah, Two-bit and Marcia just picked him up.”
“Yeah,” Soda said with a laugh, “Never thought I’d see the day that my baby brother has a date on a Friday night and I didn’t.”
Elsie smirked at him, “No plans with Cherry?”
Soda looked at her, “Oh god, please tell me you’re not on that train too? Why doesn’t anyone seem to believe that we are just friends.”
Darry scoffed, “Other than the fact that you have never had a girl you consider just a friend?”
Elsie smirked at Soda, “I mean you two certainly didn’t look like you were just friends on Saturday.”
Soda gave her an exasperated look, “Well we are.. For now.. I don’t know. Saturday was… nice… but I’m not looking for a relationship.” Darry started to say something but Elsie squeezed his arm and gave him a look that made him close his mouth, much to Soda’s relief.
Soda got up from the couch, “Anyway, I’m heading out for a little bit. I’ll be home late.”
Darry raised a curious eyebrow, “You’re not by chance going to see a certain blonde who just got back to Tulsa, are you?”
Soda rolled his eyes, “No, Darry, I’ve actually been trying my best to avoid her all week.”
Darry still looked suspicious, “Hmm okay, where are you headin’ then?”
Soda sighed, he knew Darry wouldn’t like the answer, but he also knew Darry wasn’t going to let it go. “I’m going to Angel’s, to one of Tim’s poker games.”
Now he was receiving wary looks from both Darry and Elsie. Soda knew they would get worried, but Tim kept everyone in line and they had never had police trouble. “Soda, are you sure that’s a good idea? I know you’re eighteen now, so you can’t get taken away, but you could still get arrested, or a fight could break out.”
“Darry, I will be fine. Ya know Tim’s operations hardly ever get caught and he keeps everyone there in line.” Soda said, and then added a little smirk, “Besides, don't you two want the house to yourselves?”
Elsie rolled her eyes, “Your safety comes before our sex life, Soda.”
Soda chuckled but then gave her a soft smile. He remembered Darry telling him about how Elsie’s brother was killed after getting involved in illegal gambling. “Don’t worry, I’ll be safe. If there’s any trouble I’ll scram, promise.”
Darry still looked skeptical but nodded, “Just use your head, okay little buddy?”
Soda nodded, “I always do.” He said as he waved goodbye and headed out the front door.
Sandy followed Sylvia through the alley next to Angels and watched as the dark haired girl knocked on the side entrance. Tim opened the door and let them in without a word. “Hi, Timmy,” Sylvie chirped as she breezed past him. Sandy followed her into the room nervously.
“Hey Syl, hi Sandy. You both look good,” He eyed Sylvia’s shorts, “But I thought we decided you should wear pants, Sylvia. Ya know after that whole ordeal with that west sider last month.”
Sandy’s eyes widened but Sylvia just shrugged, “I get better tips when I wear shorts. Plus we’re going for a whole angel and devil thing.” Sylvia gestured between herself and Sandy. Sylvia was wearing a pair of black shorts and a red blouse that showed off her breasts. She had put Sandy in a pair of tight white pants and a pink off the shoulder blouse.
Sandy looked between Tim and Sylvia, “Um, What happened last month?”
“One of the high rollers got a little handsy, but don’t worry I took care of him.” Tim explained. That made her nervous but this certainly wouldn’t be her first time dealing with handsy men. Tim seemed to see the worry in her eyes, “If anyone makes you uncomfortable come get me or one of my boys.” Tim nodded to a group of greasers on the other side of the room. “We’ll take care of them.”
Sandy nodded, “Got it. So do you need me to just run drinks from the bar? I’ve never bartended before.”
Time shook his head, “The barmaid, Kendra, gave us some bottom shelf stuff from the bar so we’re not going back and forth and drawing attention to the room. We’ll have two tables running tonight. Syl can take one and you take the other.” Time gestured to a folding table that was set up like a makeshift bar. “Bar and well drinks only. If they want some pussy ass fru fru drink they can go out and get it themselves but once they leave the room they’re not welcome back for the night. Got it?”
Sandy nodded, “Doesn’t sound too hard.”
Tim nodded and continued, “Smile, flirt, tell guys you’re their good luck charm, shit like that. Whatever keeps them playing and betting. You keep all the tips you get plus 8% of what we make. Folks will start coming soon. You girls ready?”
Sandy and Sylvia nodded. Sandy thought it seemed pretty manageable. Even though she’d been on the more reserved side, she knew how to flash her baby blues and charm a man when she needed to. Tim nodded and walked away.
About fifteen minutes later, Sandy saw Soda enter the room and though she felt her chest tighten with anxiety she wasn't surprised. She knew it was a matter of time that they ran into each other. She turned around before he could see her and was gobsmacked when she saw a different set of eyes. A cold, mean set. They belonged to Chet. The boy who assisted in ruining her life. She knew she couldn’t blame everything on him, after all she decided to go to that party, and she walked up those steps. “Fuck.” Sandy whispered. Her and Sylvia were standing next to the drink table grabbing beers for some of the early comers.
“What’s wrong?” Sylvia asked, “Is it Soda?”
Sandy shook her head, unable to speak. She knew Soda was mad at her but at the end of the day he had common decency, unlike Chet.
Sylvia looked at skeptically and followed her gaze. The soc that she was staring at looked vaguely familiar. She could tell whoever he was, Sandy was terrified.
“C’mon.” Sylvia said as she pulled Sandy to the alley door, telling Tim to come get them when they started the games. Once they were in the alley, away from everyone Sandy could feel herself start to breathe again. “What he do?”
Sandy looked up at Sylvia, “Um. who?”
Sylvia crossed her arms, “The soc in the blue sweater. You looked like you saw a ghost when you saw him.”
Sandy looked down again, averting Sylvia’s gaze. “N-n-nothing… I mean… about a month before I left w-we m-m-met at a party and well I was mad at Soda that night and had a lot to drink…” Sandy’s voice trailed off
Sylvia nodded. She felt a sudden hatred for that boy. She would have to tell Tim not to let him in anymore. It wasn’t that she and Sandy were particularly close, they were friends, but just hearing how he slept with a drunk girl made her want to cut him. She would settle for having him banned from Friday night poker, though. “About a month, huh?” When Sandy only nodded, Sylvia sighed, “So… was he the father? Or was it Soda’s?”
Sandy’s head shot up and she stared at Sylvia in shock for a moment, “What?”
Sylvia rolled her eyes, “Most of the east side knows why you left. Especially with how gossipy Two-bit is.”
Sandy could barely get the words out, “No. It wasn’t Soda’s. He wasn’t Soda’s.” Sandy paused and took a deep breath before continuing, her voice a little stronger now, “Chet refused to acknowledge me when I told him. He said he would tell everyone I was lying. So I went to Florida where my aunt and grandma live. My aunt and her girlfri- I mean roommate adopted the baby, Jack.”
Sylvia nodded in understanding, “Alright.” Sylvia said abruptly, “We’ll make sure Soda and Chet are at separate tables. I’ll take Chet’s if you’re okay with taking Soda’s. And after tonight, I’ll make sure you don’t have to worry about running into that rich asshole here again. Savvy?”
Sandy wanted to argue and say that she wasn’t worth the trouble, but instead she just smiled softly and nodded. Tim stuck his head out into the alley, “Syl, is everything okay? I’m about to go over house rules. Ya’ll ready?” Sylvia took Sandy’s hand and led through the door.
Soda heard Tim’s voice yell over the chatter, “Okay, We have two tables running tonight, but before we get the games started, let’s get some house rules straight. Once we start, there is no re-entry. Drinks are free, just let one of our gorgeous hostesses know and don’t forget to tip.” Soda craned his neck to see who was hostessing tonight as Tim listed out the two biggest rules of the night: No fighting and hands off the girls. Soda recognized Sylvia and her dark curls. He remembered Two-bit telling him something about her and Tim sleeping together, so it didn’t surprise him that she was there. To her left, he saw a blue eyed blonde. No, he thought to himself , it couldn’t be. It was Sandy, the girl he used to love, standing there in tight clothes, smiling. He could tell it was a fake smile. She had always been good at faking smiles, but he knew. He always knew. She shouldn’t be her, he thought. It wasn’t safe, what if the cops showed up or there was a fight. Fuck, what if one of these jackasses touched her?
Soda couldn’t help himself. As everyone started taking their seats, he pushed through to where she was talking to Tim and Sylvia. He caught her by the elbow and pulled her to the side, ignoring whatever Tim was saying to him. “What are you doing here?” He practically growled at her.
Sandy blinked trying to understand what was happening, “I-I thought Evie and pony would have told you I was back in Tulsa.”
Soda shook his head. “No. I mean, yeah I heard you were back. But what are you doing working here?” He softened a little, hearing her stutter and hating that he was the one causing it to come out.
Sandy stared at him for a moment before answering, “My dad ran out on my mom. I need the money.”
Soda knew he shouldn’t care. If Steve or Darry were here, they would drag his ass out the door before he could say anything else. But they weren’t here, Soda couldn’t stop himself from caring about Sandy. “Well we must be able to find you something better than this. Maybe I could talk to my boss about-”
“Soda, Stop.” Sandy cut him off, her voice cracking slightly. “Look. I am so sorry for what I did. That’s why I came to your house, to apologize. But you don’t have to care about me.” She looked down, avoiding Soda’s gaze. “I don’t deserve it,” she mumbled.
Soda’s heart shattered all over again hearing her say that. He brought a gentle to her face, but she flinched away from him. Suddenly Soda heard Tim’s voice behind him, “Curtis, Are you fucking deaf? Hands off. And we’re getting ready to deal so go sit your ass down before I kick you out.”
Soda drew his hand back and opened his mouth to say something, but Sandy walked away before he could. Tim clapped a hand on Soda’s shoulder. “C’mon man. She doesn’t need the drama right now.”
Soda turned to face Tim, “You’ll look after her, right?”
Tim noticed the intensity in his eyes and nodded, “Yeah, Curtis. You aint got nothing to worry about. I’ll look after her for ya.” Soda nodded and walked over to the table.