Jukie did a double take. The big white dude was actually walking over towards them. What the hell? He stepped away from Donna so he could be ready in case this wild-eyed cat was looking for some serious trouble. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Donna had kind of drifted off in the direction of the living room. Smart move, he thought. I’ll hook up with her later after I deal with this nut case.
Soundtrack: I Want to Take You Higher----Sly and the Family Stone
As soon as the dude started talking, Jukie recognized the voice, or really, the way he talked, like he was a nigger or something. Yeah, he remembered him now: Jake — used to be some kind of football star at the U ‘til he got into the hard stuff. They had met once before...last summer when Jukie was still doing smack. He recalled now. This cat was one serious junkie. Jukie, himself, wasn't really into H no more. No, he was a reefer man, now.
And right here was one reason why. Bang! They was talking some shit about Nam when all of a sudden the cat collapses, just falls flat out onto the floor.
After helping Jake’s skinny little girlfriend get him onto a couch in this here TV room, Jukie was looking for some way to get back with Donna. So he talked Jake into blowing some shit with them. It hadn't been easy. The cat was freaked about all the wacky weed on campus, but he'd agreed to try it when Jukie promised him it was "good ole pot and nothin' else."
"O.K., man," Jukie explained, "I'm gonna’ go in the otha’ room and find somma' them fine wimmins' to come blow this shit with us. O.K.? Whyn’t you and your girlfren’ wait on us here?"
Jukie realized he was laying the jive talk on pretty thick with Jake, most likely on account of Jake being a kinda' hep cat himself, so it was sorta like being with his bros. Of course, like Patsy had told him earlier this evening, Jukie could talk 'proper' English when he wanted to and he generally did around white folks, even though it took an effort. But not tonight. Here at this honky party, he was feeling and talking like a "bad ass nigger," almost as if to say: "Don't mess wit' me, white boys!"
Jukie mosied out to the main room where they was all dancing to Sly doing his thang.
Higher! I wanna take you higher!
"Oh yeah, I’m gonna’ take them higher," Jukie said to himself. "An’ then I’m gonna’ ball that chick, Donna, every which way." His eyes scanned the room looking for her. There she was, talking with this hippie chick.
He walked up to them casually, caught Donna's eye and asked in his smoothest voice, "Wanna’ do a joint or two with us?"
"Mmmm," the hippie chick replied, grinning hungrily.
Donna, she just nodded silently and they both followed him to the small back room, where Jake and his girlfriend was waiting on them.
Once the door closed, Jukie reached into his breast pocket and pulled out his gold cigarette case. He opened it ever so smoothly. The girls' eyes all turned to him, digging the sight of the dozen per-fect-ly rolled, cigarette-sized joints lying in the case, like they was tiny bars of some rare metal. Jukie smiled at this response to his style. "Slick," he thought. "I am slick and these chicks know it. But they ain't seen nothin' yet. Catch me now!"
In one long smooth motion, Jukie lit up...took a huge toke...looked into Donna's hungry eyes... reached out his arm...and held the joint to her expectant lips. It was a boss move and Jukie could see that it was working its magic on Donna. She closed her eyes, circled the joint with her fine red lips like it was a dick, and sucked for all she was worth. When she was done, she grabbed his hand and pulled both it and the joint away from her mouth. She gazed deep into his eyes and let the smoke seep out slowly past her partially opened lips. The chick was gone. Jukie could see it. She was ready to make it with him, right there, right now! Oh yeah!
Jukie looked up. All eyes were on him, especially Jake’s girlfriend, her thin jewish face carefully studying Jukie's every move. Man, he could have her tonight, too, if he wanted to. But, best play one at a time, he thought, and deliberately by-passed her, handing the joint casually to Jake. No sense pissing Donna off by coming on to this other chick too. Let Jake satisy his own girlfriend. But, no, Jukie realized that wasn't gonna' happen. The cat was too out of it to notice his girl’s hungry eyes. He was stoned out of his mind after taking just one little hit.
"Tole you this was no white boy's shit, man, " Jukie exclaimed, looking right at Jake.
"You right, brother," Jake replied. "You fuckin' right!"
Higher! Baby, baby, baby, gonna take you higher!
The music from the other room suddenly got very loud. Oh shit, someone coming in! Jukie's mind instantly filled with fears of being busted...or worse. Here he was, a black man, turning on these white college kids! He jerked his head around to see who had entered the room...turned out it was just some little faggot friend of the hippie chick.
By now, the first J was done, so with his free hand, Jukie slipped a second one out of his case and inserted it, slowly into Donna's eagerly waiting mouth. Then he flicked on his gold lighter, which he’d made appear in the same hand as the joint — a cute little sleight-of-hand he'd learned in the army. Donna took a long drag, a look of pure pleasure covering her smooth pale face. Jukie watched her with satisfaction. He knew he was going to score with this chick tonight. He pulled the joint from Donna's mouth like it was his throbbing cock, a move that, in fact, made him harden instantly. Continuing the motion, he passed the joint to Jake’s girl, his eyes still on Donna's face. He proceeded to cover Donna's mouth with his, sucking the smoke out of her lungs and into his own.
Jukie could see that this second act of his performance hadn't been lost on the others in the room neither. He looked round. Everyone was turned on sexually, even Jake whose girl was staring hungrily at the bulge now growing in his pants. And the hippie chick's eyes were twinkling, as if she was ready and willing to go down on any and all of them right now, men and women alike.
Time to cut out, Jukie thought. Time to find a bed and make it with this woman, now. He put his arm round Donna's waist and guided her through the doorway.
Higher! Higher! Higher!
"Where to?" he bent to ask her over the noise of the music and the shouts of the honky kids doing some wacky dance to his man Sly.
She looked up at him, smiled, took his hand, and said, "Upstairs. Front bedroom. Follow me."
Links
Nam (Viet Nam)
smack, H, hard stuff (heroin)
wacky weed, reefer, pot, weed, shit (marijuana)
junkie
joint, J, reefer
toke
Sly and the Family Stone
Go to the next scene in Jukie's story
New Year's Eve 1968: Jukie, Scene 3 "Forbidden Fruit"
Go to the previous scene in Jukie's story
New Year's Eve 1968: Jukie, Scene 1 "1969 Began With a Kiss"
Go to a related scene
New Year's Eve 1968: Jake, Scene 8 "Take Me Higher"
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