#sex and candy is literally the only marcy playground song i know.

[oflgtfol]

∞ !!!!

"hanging 'round, downtown by myself / and i've had too much caffeine, and i was thinkin' about myself / and then there she was in platform double suede / yeah, there she was like disco lemonade"

from sex and candy by marcy playground

so i discovered this song back in like middle school when my mom was forcing me to watch MTV with her and this song came on. and i liked it! i thought it was fun so i added it to my music library. i looked up the lyrics and i saw disco lemonade and yknow in hindsight that's a drink but back then i was what, 11? 12? and i had no idea what the fuck disco lemonade meant so i thought it was absurdist humor and i was yknow, 11, 12, so i was fully in my weird nonsense = height of comedy phase. so i was fully obsessed with disco lemonade. i thought it was a fun phrase that had a nice rhythm to it, it felt nice to say, and the fact it was a nonsense phrase to me just made it all the better. i believe i made my roblox username "DiscoLemonade" or something similar because of it, because back then i changed my roblox username like how some of you people change your tumblr urls. DiscoLemonade was not a very long era of mine but it unfortunately was very much an era

( put a "∞" in my ask box and I'll shuffle my music player and give you my favorite lyric from the song that comes up )

[dizzydancingdreamer]

Hey, I love you!

So I wanted to do something to show my appreciation for you all! You guys are always in my inbox, always hyping me up and making sure I’m okay, and I am so terrible at messaging people and jumping in people’s inboxes but I wanted you guys to know that I love and appreciate you all!! Please don’t think I don’t, I know I’m bad at responding!!

Anyway I did a fun lil thing-- here are some aesthetics and songs we could fall in love too!! They’re songs that I think either fit your vibes or have pretty lyrics that I like and it’s all in good fun!! Pretty songs for pretty mutuals!

Also I’m not putting this under a cut so y’all can deal with the long post 

@activist-af​ : My forever partner in crime, please run away with me and elope

Streetlights on Mars (Stripped) | Jackson Penn

“Even if we don't know where we are

Falling so hard

Here in the dark

This is the start”

--

Better Together | Jack Johnson 

“Yeah, it's always better when we're together”

--

Alone Together | Fall Out Boy

“'Cause I don't know where you're going,

 But do you got room for one more troubled soul?”

--

I Miss You | Blink 182

“Hello there,

The angel from my nightmare...

We can live like Jack and Sally

If we want”

--

Meet Virginia | Train 

“Well here she is again on the phone

Just like me hates to be alone

We just like to sit at home, and rip on the President”

--

@elijahs-wife​ : ultimate cool girl vibes, step on me please I beg

Winona Ryder | Picture This

“And I get nervous when I am around her

'Cause I worship this woman from the ground up

And I'd do anything just to spend a while

Anywhere when she's there”

--

She Is | The Fray

“She is everything I need

That I never knew I wanted

She is everything I want

That I never knew I needed”

--

Let’s Fall in Love for the Night | FINNEAS

“Let's fall in love for the night

And forget in the mornin'

Play me a song that you like

You can bet I'll know every line“

--

Sex & Candy | Marcy Playground

“In platform double suede

Yeah there she was

Like disco lemonade”

--

Chariot | Gavin DeGraw 

“Your favorite fruit is chocolate covered cherries

And seedless watermelon, oh

Nothing from the ground is good enough”

--

@imaginearyparties : Sweet beyond measure and reliable, let’s picnic

Line Without a Hook | Ricky Montgomery

“She's a, she's a lady, and I am just a line without a hook"

--

Honeybee | The Head and the Heart 

“I can't imagine how my life would be

If all your gravity did not hit me

Oh, don't you see?

Darling, my honeybee”

--

If You’re the Coffee | The Arcadian Wild 

“If you're the milk,

I'm the cookie. 

If you're the coffee, 

I'm the cream”

--

The Saltwater Room | Owl City 

“When we're apart whatever are you thinking of?

If this is what I call home why does it feel so alone?

So tell me darling, do you wish we'd fall in love?

All the time, all the time”

--

She’s so High | Tal Bachman

“She's so high

Like Cleopatra

Joan of Arc

Or Aphrodite”

--

@hellotvshowtrash​ : A mama mia, rollercoaster, ride or die friendship and I am so down

better with you | Virginia To Vegas

“But I know all these memories I hold onto

Would’a been better with you”

--

Sister Golden Hair | America 

“Well, I keep on thinkin' 'bout you, sister golden hair surprise

And I just can't live without you, can't you see it in my eyes?”

--

What Am I | Why Don’t We 

“And one day we could be

Maybe more than two lost souls just passing by”

--

I Will Follow You into the Dark | Death Cab for Cutie 

“If Heaven and Hell decide that they both are satisfied

Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs

If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks

Then I'll follow you into the dark”

--

Mr. Jones | Counting Crows 

“She's suddenly beautiful

And we all want something beautiful”

--

@dumble-daddy​ So cool it’s almost intimidating, supportive rockstar, need I say more?  

Accidentally In Love | Counting Crows 

“So she said what's the problem baby

What's the problem I don't know

Well maybe I'm in love”

--

Glycerine | Bush

“It must be your skin, I'm sinkin' in

It must be for real, 'cause now I can feel

And I didn't mind, it's not my kind

It's not my time, to wonder why”

--

head first | Christian French 

“You hit me like a tidal wave, I'm falling off

You got me hypnotized, mesmerized

Wrapped around your finger”

--

Count on Me | Bruno Mars 

“If you tossin' and you're turnin' and you just can't fall asleep

I'll sing a song beside you

And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me

Every day I will remind you”

--

Green Light | Lorde

“But honey I'll be seein' you 'ever I go

But honey I'll be seein' you down every road”

--

@mikaelson-emma​ : Literally the sweetest person, 10/10 would cuddle

Sweet Pea | Amos Lee

“Hey, sweet pea

Apple of my eye

Don't know when, and I don't know why

But you're the only reason I keep on coming home”

--

Heart’s Content | Brandi Carlile

“We bite our tongues

And our fingernails

We fall in love

And we don't fall out

Maybe we speak too soon”

--

Tee Shirt | Birdy 

“In the morning when you wake up

I like to believe you are thinking of me

And when the sun comes through your window

I like to believe you've been dreaming of me”

--

She’s Good | Ron Pope

“Like the remnants of this whiskey

She'll keep clouding up my mind”

--

Vanilla Twilight | Owl City 

“I'd send a postcard to you, dear

'Cause I wish you were here”

--

BONUS-- SONG FOR ALL OF Y’ALL: 

She’s So Lovely | Scouting For Girls 

“I love the way she bites her lip

I love the way she shakes them hips

I love the way she makes me drool

I think that she is beautiful”

[josiebelladonna]

it got lost in the notifications but i was tagged to do a thing

A - age: 27-soon-to-be-28

B - birthplace: ventura, california

C - current time: 5:06 p.m.

D - drink you last had: Coffee

E - easiest person to talk to: alex and joey (to the point it actually weirds me out)

F - favorite song: take a deep breath with me... echoes by pink floyd, fade into you by mazzy star, planet caravan by black sabbath, change (in the house of flies) by deftones, seasons by chris cornell, long gone day by mad season, damage inc (of wolf and man, too) by metallica, a skeleton in the closet by anthrax, electric crown by testament, holy water by soundgarden, what you are by audioslave, the birds by skin yard, a history of bad men by the melvins, grind by alice in chains, blue flame ford by truly, out of focus by love battery, sex and candy by marcy playground, titanium expose by sonic youth, dig lazarus dig by nick cave, beat the devil’s tattoo by black rebel motorcycle club, kitchenware and candybars by stone temple pilots, aqueous transmission by incubus, gave up by nine inch nails, live with me by the twilight singers, danger! high voltage by electric six, misery by green day, le disko by shiny toy guns, hey pretty by poe, fat bottom girls by queen, fight like a brave by the chili peppers, retrovertigo by mr. bungle, idlewild blue by outkast, volare by dean martin (yes), a little less conversation by elvis, lilac wine by jeff buckley, ballad of a thin man by bob dylan, you sent me flying by amy winehouse, locomotive breath by jethro tull, working man by rush, i want you by elvis costello, you could be mine by guns n’ roses, aurora by foo fighters, aneurysm by nirvana, jennifer’s body by hole, soma by smashing pumpkins, the battle of evermore by led zeppelin, norwegian wood by the beatles... man, i could literally be here all day

G - grossest memory: pre-pandemic: oh my god, one time when i was in school, and i was taking the bus, there was this older homeless guy who always came on who always - not even kidding, always - smelled like someone pissed in an ashtray. i remember having to stand near the front of the bus because it was just abhorrent, but i felt so sorry for him, though. as for during the pandemic: really, any time i see someone not wearing a mask. i have a visceral reaction every time.

H - horror yes or no: yes, but to an extent. i’m more towards the fusion horror, like horror-comedy, and also the more goth side of it

I - in love: ...i’ll never tell

J - jealous of people: only when i feel like they deserve my jealousy

K - first kiss: ...would you believe i’ve never been kissed. in my late 20s and it never happened to me.

L - love at first sight, or should i walk by again: i’ve found it depends on the person. when i first saw joey, i felt like my heart was going to jump right out of my chest, whereas it took me a few months to warm up to alex.

M - middle name: christine

N - number of siblings: 1

O - one wish: i really, really want to be back in the northwest. heck, i’ll take nor-cal, i love oregon and washington, and i’m sick of the southland, you know? i wanna live in a place that rains regularly and also has clear-cut seasons. and to be honest, i actually wouldn’t mind the east coast, either.

P - perfect date: coffee and then a show, baby

Q - question you’re always asked: what are you doing? (constantly); could you do this for me? (apparently people look at me and think i’m a servant of some sort idk)

R - reading anything right now: i’m currently rereading the bell jar from sylvia plath and also the monkeywrench gang, and i want to get back into reading poetry at some point. i also really want to get my hands on scott and alex’s memoirs, and rust in peace, too.

S - song you last sang: like suicide by soundgarden. unbelievably profound.

T - time you woke up: 6:45 am (i’m usually up early anyways, but this time change has me all out of whack; it’s funny because it usually happens to me the other way, when we “fall back”)

U - underwear color: beige

V - vacation destination: well because of this godforsaken pandemic, the last time i really took a vacation was labor day weekend 2019, when i saw alice in chains and korn. stayed in a hotel about ten miles from the mexican border down in chula vista. fue muy erotico~

W - when was the last time you really laughed: yesterday. i was going over the next chapter of amped and wired before i go into drawing it out tomorrow and you know when you see or hear something funny after not having any exposure to it for a long time and it makes you laugh your ass off? it’s like that.

X - x-rays: actually, no. even with as much as i’ve played rough before.

Y - your favorite food: my dad’s barbecue, my mom’s cincinnati chili, my grandpa’s pizza, and my grandma’s fried chicken

Z - zodiac sign: aries

i tag anyone who wants to do it 💜💜💜

[kaijumilf]

I got tagged to do a thing by my favorite friend ever @ferengienergywhip (ive never actually done a thing like this before so sorry if I fuck it up lmao)

Rules:

list ten songs you’re currently into and then tag ten people to do the same 1) Possum Kingdom - Toadies 2) Sex and Candy - Marcy Playground 3) Man in the Box - Alice in Chains 4) Time of the Season - The Zombies 5) Brain Stew - Green Day 6) 1979 - Smashing Pumpkins 7) Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden 8) Sunny Afternoon - The Kinks 9) California Dreamin - The Mamas and Papas 10) Ramble On - Led Zeppelin (literally I only usually listen to 90s alt or 70s music lol) And I know it says to tag ten people but like,,, I really don’t have friends on her except for Lilly so do it if you want 😊😊😊

[nonbinarysasquatch]

Because it amuses me, I’ve decided to assemble list of Weird Al polka songs and mark what songs I’ve heard along with notations of which ones are actually in my collection. Skipping Hot Rocks Polka from UHF (yeah, I have heard all of those, and I have some of them in my collection) and Bohemian Polka (is there a human being who hasn’t heard Bohemian Rhapsody, and of course it’s in my collection.)

Songs in bold I’ve heard at some point. Songs and artists in italics I literally know nothing about.

Just because something is in my collection doesn’t mean I love it (though more often than not I do) and just because something ISN’T doesn’t mean I don’t like it.

Polkas on 45 from “Weird Al” Yankovic in 3-D (1984):

"Jocko Homo" by Devo (In My Collection) "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple (In My Collection) "Sex (I'm A...)" by Berlin (In My Collection) "Hey Jude" by The Beatles (In My Collection) "L.A. Woman" by The Doors (In My Collection) "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly "Hey Joe" by Jimi Hendrix "Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads (In My Collection) "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner "Every Breath You Take" by The Police (In My Collection) "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by The Clash (In My Collection) "Jumpin' Jack Flash" by The Rolling Stones (In My Collection)

Hooked on Polkas from Dare to Be Stupid (1985):

"State of Shock" by The Jacksons and Mick Jagger "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top "What's Love Got to Do with It" by Tina Turner (In My Collection) "Method of Modern Love" by Hall & Oates (In My Collection) "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by Yes (In My Collection) "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister (In My Collection) "99 Luftballons" by Nena (In My Collection) "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins "The Reflex" by Duran Duran (In My Collection) "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)" by Quiet Riot "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood (In My Collection)

Polka Party! from Polka Party! (1986) (one of Al’s best albums imo):

"Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel (In My Collection) "Sussudio" by Phil Collins (In My Collection) "Party All the Time" by Eddie Murphy "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie (In My Collection) "Freeway of Love" by Aretha Franklin (may have heard as child) "What You Need" by INXS (In My Collection) "Harlem Shuffle" by The Rolling Stones (In My Collection) "Venus" by Bananarama (In My Collection) "Nasty" by Janet Jackson "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco (WHY IS THIS NOT IN MY COLLECTION?) "Shout" by Tears for Fears (In My Collection) "Papa Don't Preach" by Madonna (In My Collection)

Polka Your Eyes Out from Off the Deep End (1992):

"Cradle of Love" by Billy Idol (In My Collection) "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega (In My Collection) "Love Shack" by The B-52's (In My Collection) "Pump Up the Jam" by Technotronic "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M. (In My Collection) "Unbelievable" by EMF (another I’m surprised I don’t have) "Do Me!" by Bell Biv DeVoe "Enter Sandman" by Metallica (In My Collection) "The Humpty Dance" by Digital Underground "Cherry Pie" by Warrant "Miss You Much" by Janet Jackson "I Touch Myself" by Divinyls (In My Collection) "Dr. Feelgood" by Mötley Crüe "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice

The Alternative Polka from Bad Hair Day (1996) (welcome to my teen years)

"Loser" by Beck (In My Collection) "Sex Type Thing" by Stone Temple Pilots (In My Collection) "All I Wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow (In My Collection) "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails (In My Collection) "Bang and Blame" by R.E.M. (In My Collection) "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette (In My Collection) "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" by The Smashing Pumpkins (In My Collection) "My Friends" by Red Hot Chili Peppers (In My Collection) "I'll Stick Around" by Foo Fighters (In My Collection) "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden (In My Collection) "Basket Case" by Green Day (In My Collection)

Polka Power! from Running with Scissors (1999): (the beginning of the end of my time listening to the radio/watching MTV... seriously 1999 me was so bitter about how music was going to shit...)

"Wannabe" by the Spice Girls "Flagpole Sitta" by Harvey Danger (In My Collection) "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" by Pras featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard and Mýa "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" by the Backstreet Boys "Walkin' on the Sun" by Smash Mouth (In My Collection) "Intergalactic" by the Beastie Boys (In My Collection) "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba (In My Collection) "Ray of Light" by Madonna (In My Collection) "Push" by Matchbox Twenty (In My Collection) "Semi-Charmed Life" by Third Eye Blind (I HATE THIS SONG AND I SAW THEM IN CONCERT AT ROCK FEST BEFORE THEY WERE BIG AND I WAS LIKE “WOW, THAT BAND SUCKED” THEN INEXPLICABLY THEY WERE SUDDENLY FAMOUS LIKE TWO MONTHS LATER) "The Dope Show" by Marilyn Manson (In My Collection) "MMMBop" by Hanson (I kinda wish I had some Hanson) "Sex and Candy" by Marcy Playground (In My Collection) "Closing Time" by Semisonic (In My Collection)

Angry White Boy Polka from Poodle Hat (2003) (I wasn’t listening much to the radio at this point, and some of these songs I’m pretty sure I heard a good while after they were in the Polka, I either don’t care about or don’t like most of these songs.):

"Last Resort" by Papa Roach "Chop Suey!" by System of a Down (In My Collection) "Get Free" by The Vines "Hate to Say I Told You So" by The Hives "Fell in Love with a Girl" by The White Stripes (In My Collection) "Last Nite" by The Strokes (In My Collection) "Down with the Sickness" by Disturbed (In My Collection) "Renegades of Funk" by Rage Against the Machine "My Way" by Limp Bizkit "Outside" by Staind (In My Collection) "Bawitdaba" by Kid Rock "Youth of the Nation" by P.O.D. "The Real Slim Shady" by Eminem

Polkarama! from Straight Outta Lynwood (2006): (We’re at the point where unless I just randomly caught it on the radio or someone I knew played it, I was pretty over popular music and was digging through other musical interests)

"Let's Get It Started" by The Black Eyed Peas (I’m unsure on this one. I know I’ve heard some Black Eyed Peas in the past) "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand (In My Collection) "Beverly Hills" by Weezer (In My Collection) "Speed of Sound" by Coldplay "Float On" by Modest Mouse "Feel Good Inc." by Gorillaz featuring De La Soul  (In My Collection) "Don't Cha" by Pussycat Dolls featuring Busta Rhymes "Somebody Told Me" by The Killers (In My Collection) "Slither" by Velvet Revolver "Candy Shop" by 50 Cent featuring Olivia "Drop It Like It's Hot" by Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell "Pon de Replay" by Rihanna (I feel like Umbrella is the only Rihanna song I’ve heard) "Gold Digger" by Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx

Polka Face from Alpocalypse (2011):

“Poker Face” by Lady Gaga “Womanizer” by Britney Spears “Right Round” by Flo Rida ft. Ke$ha (the first time I heard this in the polka I thought Al was suddenly doing Dead or Alive) “Day 'n' Nite” by Kid Cudi “Need You Now” by Lady Antebellum (In My Collection, weirdly enough) “Baby” by Justin Bieber ft. Ludacris “So What” by Pink (I’m surprised I don’t have more Pink) “I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry “Fireflies” by Owl City (I know nothing about this band but the name sounds gothic, which probably means it’s pop) “Blame It” by Jamie Foxx ft. T-Pain “Replay” by Iyaz “Down” by Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne “Break Your Heart” by Taio Cruz ft. Ludacris “Tik Tok” by Kesha (she’s on the periphery on the sort of thing I’m into so I checked her out and determined I wasn’t feeling it)

Now That’s What I Call Polka! from Mandatory Fun (2014): (To say that at this point I’ve long since abandoned any way to check out music that isn’t a deliberate choice is almost an understatement but at the same time I’ve become a lot more musically opened minded in recent years AND I’ve been on tumblr which has made me more vaguely aware of stuff younger folks are into):

“Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus (checked out re: controversy iirc) “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People (In My Collection) “Best Song Ever” by One Direction (I legit was like, well hey maybe One Direction is surprisingly good since so many people on Tumblr love them... nope. Sounded like every boy band in the history of ever as far as I could tell.) “Gangnam Style” by Psy (Too heavily referenced everywhere to have not checked it out) “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen (see above re: references) “Scream & Shout” by will.i.am feat. Britney Spears “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye feat. Kimbra (I legit love this song because it sounds like Peter Gabriel, I checked out Gotye without having any idea he had a hit song though) “Timber” by Pitbull feat. Kesha “Sexy and I Know It” by LMFAO “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz (Yeah, I’ve BEEN to the Value Village that has since closed on Capitol Hill in Seattle but I’ve never heard the song or seen the video in which it is featured... in fact I’ve never heard any Macklemore, despite Seattleite status) “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams

I think the polkas from recent years come out better than I thought, though I literally only have two songs in my collection from the last one so...

[nowitsdarkfic]

chapter twenty-five (cherry pie and suede)

“And then there she was like double cherry pie [...] And then there she was in platform double suede.” -”Sex and Candy”, Marcy Playground (one of my favorite songs ever)

December 27, 1988. Manhattan, New York.

I'm waking up to total darkness over me with a rumble in my belly and a parched sensation in the back of my throat. I had fallen asleep on Candace's couch underneath a couple of her blankets and with a plush little pillow after we had eaten so much Chinese food and some cherry pie that she had ordered from the nearby bakery: she wanted to get Lars a chocolate cake like she had promised but they only had some pies left in the wake of Christmas time. God, I fell asleep feeling fuller than I had felt the other night when I was at my parents' house and when Maya and I drove upstate from the Bronx; but at least when I was at my parents' house, I slept all through the night. This time, I'm waking up at dark thirty with a hankering for something.

I don't want to wake Candace or Lars, both of them sleeping in her bedroom in front of me, so I slide off of the couch and creep across the floor to the narrow kitchen. Surely, Lars won't mind if I have another slice of pie. I reach over to the wall on my left to click on the light and there's Candace, wrapped in a lush red wine colored suede bathrobe, hunched over at the counter, and cradling the pie in her hands. She gasps and whirls around to see me.

“Oh, Joey,” she whispers, clutching at her chest. “I didn't know you were up. What's—What's going on?”

“I woke up with the munchies,” I confess to her, rubbing my eyes. “I ate so much rice earlier but that's damn good pie, though.”

“Yeah, I'll say. You want a slice?”

“Oh, please.”

She reaches up to the cupboard over her head for a pair of small blue and white dishes and sets them down on the counter. I rub my eyes again as I watch her cut up some more of the pie with one of the colorful knives in the drawer right in front of her. She sets a slice of some of that luscious pie on the plate to her left, and then another on the plate to her right. She puts the pie back into the fridge when I offer to get her and I both a pair of forks from the other drawer. I open it up and it's just a bunch of folded hand towels.

“You looking for the forks?” she asks me with a gentle chuckle. I lift my head to see her opening the drawer closest to the fridge and taking out two forks with bright red handles.

“Well, I feel dumb,” I confess, closing the drawer.

“Don't,” she insists, handing me the one in her left. I take it, and then the plate, and take the first bite of another slice of pie.

“Even better at one thirty in the morning,” she remarks, sloughing off a rather large piece from her slice.

“Can I confess something to you?” I start after swallowing the bite. I need to confess that I don't know where I'm going with this.

“Sure,” she assures me. “I mean, I confessed mine and Maya's past with abuse to you and Lars. You should feel safe to confess to me about anything.”

I lean my hip against the edge of the counter and hold the plate up to my chest. I don't know if it's the fact it's so late but I need to throw something out there.

“Sometimes I just wanna eat until I've got a little gut going.”

She snorts.

“You wanna eat until you're all bloated?”

“Well, I am an athlete—sometimes I just want to eat everything and eat all the time at that.”

She drops her gaze to my waist. “That explains the thick thighs and why you're so skinny.”

“Sometimes I can't stand how skinny I am. Like just a few years ago, I was baby faced, like my cheeks were kinda chubby. And then I slimmed down a ton this past year. I almost can't help it, though. I'm just made to be skinny, I guess. My aunt says I was a brat when I was younger, all quiet and moody and sassy and just wanting to eat everything in sight. Guess some things never change as we slim down.”

“I kinda like you all slender and slim. Like it suits you. I wouldn't imagine you any other way.”

“I do like pasta, too.”

She chuckles at me again. “I should've known, Mr. Roman nose and lush curly hair.” She hesitates for a second with the tines of her fork resting on her bottom lip and her eyes locked on me. “I think I've seen you guys now that I think about it. Like when you were down at the bar over here. It was you, Lars, and two women.”

“Nancy and Dominique,” I recall, taking another big bite of pie.

“Were they your girlfriends?”

“Oh, no. Lars and I were just kinda treating them well that night while their boyfriends were—let's just say working. We ate so much pasta that night—God, I was so full.”

“And you said Maya works there?”

“I guess? She's been compiled into such a bizarre portrait as of late that I don't even know what to make of her sometimes.”

“She was always good at that,” Candace points out, holding the back of her hand up to her mouth.

“Good at what? Lying?” I take another large bite: I really don't care, I'm just gonna eat until my stomach stops yelling at me. And if that means I have to eat the whole thing with Candace then so be it.

“I wouldn't say lying. Just making up things to create a diversion. Like I know the fact behind her running away was to divert attention away from me.”

“So you think maybe some parts of—what Lars and I have found out about her could be nothing more than fabrications?”

“Easily. Very easily.”

“You know, when we were the bar that one night with the girls, Maya was in fact there. She cornered me outside of the bathrooms and gave me a new edition of her zine.”

“Watershed?”

“Mm-hm.”

As I'm working on the outer crust of the pie, she sets down her plate on the counter and reaches up to the top of the fridge.

“Do you need help?” I offer to her.

“No, no—” She takes down a little booklet with that black and blue outer cover.

“Here, take this with you back upstate,” she tells me as she hands it to me.

“What's this?” I ask her with my mouth full.

“A new edition of After the Watershed. Never before seen. Interestingly, I found this in the ice cream parlor bar next door. I read it all the way through to the very end and I suggest you do the same.” She leans in closer to my face. I swallow the large piece of crust I have shoveled into my mouth as she brings her chest closer to mine.

“What're you—”

“You know when,” she starts, licking her lips and gazing right into my face, “you were sitting on the couch and you had your shirt unbuttoned?”

“Vaguely.”

“I should've known you were trouble.” She licks her lips again and this time I can smell the cherry on her breath. I set the plate down on the counter next to me because it's a nice plate. I take a glimpse down at her chest, at the sight of the suede lapels opening so a bit of her chest pokes out at me. She brings her face closer to my neck like she's going to kiss the side.

“Kavorka—” she lowers her voice to a gentle whisper. “Primal—raw—primitive—like an animal—” I relax, or try to, anyways. There's nothing behind me. I'm standing right there in the middle of the kitchen after having eaten a good sized slice of cherry pie and this girl is getting right into my face. Nothing can also distract me from the fact that she… she was… she was abused… a great deal…

“I want you to set me free,” she whispers into my mouth as I set the zine down on the counter next to my plate.

“Candace—”

“Please,” she begs to me. “I need you. My wounds are still fresh. I need your love and your darkness. Please, Joey. I beg of you. I need you.”

“Candace—I can't,” I plea to her.

“Why not?”

“Well, because—of that.”

“The fact I was wounded so much?”

“Kinda?”

“Don't be afraid of me,” she lowers her voice to such a soft whisper that she pretty much breathes it. She puts her lips to mine. She tastes like maraschino cherries, brown sugar, and years of excruciating agony. But I can't resist her. She's running her fingers through my curls and I'm holding her close to my body. The suede is rubbing up against me in all its rich softness. I lean back against the wall and slide down to the floor. She follows me down and puts her arms around my waist once I'm here.

“Tell me where it hurts,” I whisper in between kisses.

“Everywhere—”

She kisses me a few more times and then opens her robe for me. She's not wearing anything under there. Literally nothing.

So I can see the small, slender but prominent scars on her chest and the faded bruises on her hips.

Candace then lays down on the hard floor with her robe open. I hope Lars doesn't wake up as I'm unbuttoning my pants and peeling down my underwear.

I'm on top of her. On top of her and bowing my head forward to kiss her scars. I'm gentle to hold onto her hips as I'm grinding on her. She closes her eyes and clutches at herself. I watch her grimace at first but then she relaxes as I'm moving more and more.

At one point, she opens her eyes to look right at me. Those eyes that have seen horror looking right into my own.

She reaches up to hold my wrists. I wonder what she's doing at first and then she shoves me onto my side. I lay there as she climbs off the floor, her suede bathroom still hanging loose around her body. Now she's on top of me, her legs straddling my hips. She's about to ride me like a cowgirl.

And she does.

The feeling is deep for me, but I know it must be even more so for her.

I can only see those scars on her chest and the bruises on her hips. They're not surgical scars like the one on Maya's forehead, but they are as, if not more, prominent.

She starts breathing harder with each and every gyration. She's gotta be coming soon here. Any second now.

My heart's pounding from the feeling. I feel it within me. Surely it's gotta be there on her end.

Any second. Any day. Any time now before the new year happens.

She doesn't. She never does. She grinds me like an automaton. Even though I'm getting close, she seems to be falling behind. Or lost, or something.

“I'm sorry, I can't,” she whimpers to me as tears fill her eyes.

“No, no!” She lifts off of me and that's when I sit up to put my arms around her. It's all I can do. “It's okay—it's okay.” I've got my dick hanging out of my pants and my whole lower back is utterly freezing right now from the hard tiles, but that's the least of my problems right now.

“No—I suck,” she weeps into my shirt. “I'm so royally screwed up that I can't even get a sexy guy off. They were right—I really am going to die alone.”

“No, no, no—fuck them. Fuck them to the Moon and back. Here—where do you like to be touched?”

She sniffles and brushes away a tear. I take a look at her bare naked body clothed in nothing more than the bathrobe.

“Where do you like to be touched?” I really want to caress her nipples and maybe we can get somewhere but she shakes her head.

“Nowhere,” she replies, her voice breaking. “I've been beat to a pulp too many times.”

“You mean to tell me—he hurt you so much that not even kavorka, whatever you called it, can't even soften the blow?”

“Yes,” she answers with another sniffle. She brushes away another tear before she pushes me back. I watch her scramble to her feet and close her robe.

“Thank you for having pie with me,” she tells me, tying the belt tight around her waist. “You're a sweetie.”

Candace sniffles again and then brushes past me back into her bedroom, and I'm left there with my groceries out there like a damn fool. But it's not either of our faults, though. As I'm putting myself back into my pants, I'm left to wonder now. I pick up the copy of After the Watershed from the counter once I'm standing up. I'll give this a read after Lars and I head on back to my car up in the Bronx. I need to know what happened in that house in Boston.