Chapter Six
Jackson
C.J. could’ve hung me out to dry on her stream, but she was mum on being pissed off at me, and even texted me not to say anything. She knew that there were some obsessed fanboys in her chat, she was afraid they’d try to hunt me down to protect “her honor.” She was absolutely right. Therefore, I took great pleasure in sending her another donation, this one of over two hundred dollars, with an apology for ditching her the night before.
It was the liveliest I’d ever seen any chat, let alone hers. I was blasted by men who lived in their mothers’ basements, and had never had sex without paying for it for a prostitute. Even better, the first ones wanted to top my donation and within minutes it was an all-out tip war and I’d been forgotten. I looked at C.J.’s face on the screen. Her jaw dropped and stayed just above floor level for almost an hour, as she raked in thousands of dollars in viewer donations without doing a thing.
When the spending finally slowed down, she promised a stream playing with only donors the next day, and spent a few minutes finding a game that would allow her to play with a large group of people at the same time. I logged out well before the stream ended and took Coddle Me down to the river before it got too dark for us to find our way back.
I liked C.J. I liked her so much that I didn’t have an excuse for cutting her loose when we were having such a great time. Of course, I should’ve known a beautiful woman wouldn’t take too kindly to being bumped for another girl. But damn, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I just needed a couple of hours in the same room to know if I was jonesing for her because she was a semi-famous hot chick, or if I wanted her because it was right for us to try.
I was tired and irritable when I got back, maybe even more than when I’d left. I tossed the reins to old Jack, who was already chatting to Coddle Me by the time I hung up my tack, and walked out toward the main house.
I saw my phone blinking, but ignored the notifications and ran myself a hot shower instead. It was full dark by the time I slid into my baggy sweats and picked up my phone on the way to lie down on the bed. I unlocked the screen and it lit up like Christmas, with texts and emails. I called C.J. right away, feeling like an even bigger jerk for ignoring her.
“You bought me a plane ticket.” I blurted as soon as she answered the phone.
“I bought you a plane ticket. I would’ve paid for your room too, but you were too busy ignoring me, so that’s off the table.
“I wasn’t ignoring you, I was out for a ride in the mountains. No cell reception outside the fence line around here.” I laughed and shook my head. “I guess I’ll have to stay with you, I already gave you all my money.
She made a rude noise on the other end of the line. “I didn’t pay for your plane ticket, you did. Or at least, you paid for the way out. You left before the end of my stream. I made over two thousand dollars by the end of the stream, all starting with your donation. It was crazy. I actually felt bad about accepting donations for the very first time ever.”
“You shouldn’t,” I laughed. “You give these guys the fantasy. You know they all tell their friends they hang out with a model who games with them.” I sighed and rubbed my stubble with the palm of my hand. “You know, I did a quick check of your system when I subscribed, you know, just to be safe, since I was giving out my card info.”
“Oh God. Do not tell me I’m being piggy-backed by some asshole credit card scammer.”
“Lord no. They wouldn’t dare. You have guys from a few hacker groups in your demographic, gorgeous. I mean hardcore guys from Lizard Squad and one old timer from LulzSec. If you complained once about a weird charge back or wonky looking subscription the idiot stupid enough to try would get exactly what he deserves.”
“So, you keep me safe?” She sounded impressed, and I grinned to myself and leaned back in my bed.
“Yes, ma’am, I do. So, since you bought my plane ticket, should I pick up a ticket to the whole convention, or just one day?” I could just about hear her gears turning as she thought.
“Go for all three days. That way, unless I get cut from the first round in the contest, you can watch me move up.”
“Well, shit, good-lookin’ of course you’re going to move up in the cosplay contest. How crazy would it be if you won two, back to back?”
“Well, it’s never happened before. You sure you’re good to come out? It’s coming up pretty soon.”
“Well, you know, I wasn’t just pining for you when I went out for that ride this evening. I told you I’ve been down about things here, I was thinking of going to school out in California, like my brother Logan did for a bit.”
“Like, here, in Los Angeles?”
“No, I wasn’t going to get that weird on you. I was thinking, maybe, Stanford? I got accepted there when I first applied, but my focus was Agriculture at first, you know, trying to be a Hargrave. Once I switched to cyber-security, a whole lot of university options opened up for me.”
“Do you need to take classes in cyber-security?” She sounded genuinely surprised, and I chuckled.
“I learned a lot more about the law and what I could do with my talent without doing jail time, that’s for sure. The older I get, the whiter my hat gets. No more black-hat vicious cyber-attacks for me.”
“Now you’re a hero, helping people even when they don’t know, like you did with me?”
I told her some of my favorite stories when I’d helped my brothers in their personal lives and businesses. She seemed impressed but thoughtful, like she had a use for me, rather than thinking it was hot. Which, I even preferred.
We talked for hours, again. I was too exhausted to turn off my light when we finally hung up after talking about what I do, where I could work if Stanford would accept me mid-year, how to start her costume business… I couldn’t even remember half of what either of us said if I tried the next day, but I knew there was no one I’d ever talked to who I was happy to talk about nothing with until my eyes burned and I fell asleep on the phone, still listening to the sound of her voice.
The next morning, I texted her an apology for falling asleep. In her return text was a sound byte of my snoring, with her giggling in the background. I had no come back, no witty reply, and I took my lumps while promising myself I’d get her back as soon as possible. I got strange looks at lunch, which was technically breakfast for me, but that wasn’t unusual for me during breaks from school. I finally got a clue when old Jake asked me how the hell I managed to sneak a girl out without anyone noticing. When he saw my confusion, he laughed and asked me to roll him a few of whatever I had been smoking, and bring them to him after work.
Danny all but said the same thing when I checked in with him while he worked, looking for some computer nonsense I could put to right to kill time. I explained my plan to leave and attend Stanford and he agreed, heartily. Too heartily.
“I’m just considering it, okay? Don’t get your hopes up that I’ll go and stay gone like Logan did, okay?”
Danny laughed. “Look, all I’m saying is that there’s a whole lot of world out there, and you shouldn’t be stuck here. I hated being defined by being ‘the oldest.’ Can’t be much better being ‘the baby.’ At least you got that giant brain to work with. No offense, but I don’t see you growing old as a cow punch.”
“Oh God no.” I shuddered. “Hell, if Coddle Me wasn’t such a patient old girl, I probably wouldn’t even ride.”
Danny laughed and shook his head. “You don’t mean that. You are still a Hargrave. But, I understand. I always get the feeling that you don’t quite fit into any of the ideas mom and dad have for your future.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “And that’s the reason you’re my favorite brother.”
“Liar. But, I want you to be happy. Is there a girl? Because the ranch hands have a bet going that you have ‘something special’,” he made quotes with his fingers, “with a webcam girl in another state, seeing as you never come out of your room for beers with them, anymore.”
I laughed aloud. “I guess that’s exactly what she is, but, uh, not as um, exciting as they’d think. She’s a gamer and a friend. I’ll be staying with her while I check out Stanford, but she lives in LA, and she’s a model, so I don’t expect it to go anywhere too crazy.”
“She’s a model and a gamer and you’re expecting her to be tame? Good luck with that son, you’ll need it.” He sniggered at me and I coughed and cleared my throat.
“I meant, no wedding bells for me, Dan. Geez.” I rolled my eyes. “She certainly knows her way around the guys who follow her stream. But she’s smart and probably the hardest working person I know who doesn’t reside on this ranch. So, yeah, I’ll take any luck you’ll give me.” I ran back to the kitchen and raided the fridge for beers, depositing a couple on the stairs to take up later, and the took two back to the office. I handed one to my brother and poured a little of the other down my throat.
“You think you’ll come back to the ranch after you’ve finished at Stanford?”
“I don’t even know if I’m going to Stanford, but I don’t think I’ll be back. I’m old enough to drink, man. I’m old enough to stop living with my parents every summer.” We laughed some more and I weighed what I was losing if I went to school in another state. I loved my brothers, my parents, even the men who worked here, some of whom had been here as long as I had. I always went back to Lago Colina, because it was home. This time, I wouldn’t go back, no matter what happened in California.
I had only a few days left before it was time for me to leave for good. I drained the last of my beer and clapped Danny on the back. If I was going to say goodbye, I figured I should start with my mother. She’d probably be the only one to truly miss me once the novelty of my being gone wore off.
I saluted Danny with my empty and tossed it in the trash, then went to find the woman of the house. Maybe she would be up for a horseback ride.