Heartbreak Hotel (MJ fanfic)

Chapter 3: Memories

I put my hair in a low ponytail and slipped on a large t shirt. I grabbed my checker board and two cokes from my mini fridge. I stuck the cokes in the waist band of my red cotton shorts. As I pulled up the window I heard my brother walk into my room.

"Where are you going?" He asked me while he rubbed his eyes.

"I'm gonna hang out with Michael." I stepped out onto the roof.

"At 1 am? What are you guys gonna do?" He opened my mini fridge and grabbed a coke.

"Play checkers. Don't tell mom and dad." I turned around to shuffle off of the ledge of the roof onto a platform that leads to Michaels window. I carefully stepped for the platform was narrow. I tiptoed outside of the other rooms. I saw Michael peaking out of his window and watching me walk towards his room.

"Hi!" I whisper yelled and handed him the checker board.

"Hi." He smiled and grabbed the cold coke cans out from under my waistband and sat them on the bed. I hopped into the room and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Wanna play checkers?" He pouted his lips while I hopped onto his bed.

"Sure." He didn't wear a shirt for it was hot tonight. But he wore striped pajama pants. "Do you do this often? Sneak out."

I giggled while we set up the board "Only if I'm gonna meet Ben somewhere. Which hasn't been often. But I used to all the time when I was younger." We finished setting up our pieces. He was red since it was his favorite color, I was black. "Okay you can start." He moved one of his pieces while I took a sip of my coke.

We continued to move pieces "So how are your siblings?" He squinted his eyes, contemplating where to go.

"They're good. Toyas trying to become a model. Tito's having another kid." He grabbed on of my pieces. I was losing.

"I can't believe he has kids. It feels like just yesterday when he was teaching me to play the guitar." Michael smiled. I couldn't help but glance up multiple times to see his precious face.

"Marlon always got jealous of him. He wanted to teach you." I collected two of his pieces, now he was losing. "Dang it." He huffed.

"Marlon doesn't play the guitar though." I took a sip of my coke.

"He just wanted to get close to you. He would always talk about how cute you are." My mouth dropped.

"Well he never said a damn word to me." It was true. Marlon never talked to me, but he always would watch me. Tito was the boy who talked to me the most. Michael and I would swim together sometimes but I was closest with Tito and Toya. One summer I even had a crush on Tito. Which is funny because he's so much older than I. But I really thought I had a chance. Even Jackie. I always thought Jackie was the most attractive man when I was younger. But I haven't seen him in years.

"Marlons like that. Watches from a distance." He wondered "I think I'm stuck." His eyes looked up to me as he slouched.

"I'm gonna win." I chuckled and took two more of his pieces. I had three left, he had two. "You suck at this..."

"Oh shut up. I haven't played this in awhile." He whined. I remembered how we would play checkers beside the pool. He would have to watch Janet and Randy as they swam, but he would get bored so I would help him. We would eat chips and drink cokes, just like tonight. The sun would be so hot that eventually we would just jump into the pool with Janet and Randy. Janet was so tiny that first summer. Randy too.

"And..." I grabbed his last pieces. "That's how you win." I giggled.

"Dang. You've gotten better at this." We began to put the pieces away. I crushed my empty coke can and laid back on the bed. "I miss the old summers."