“Dude, who is that?”

Robin Parker grinned, following his friend’s gaze out the window. The oversized leather desk chair that had once been his father’s creaked as Robin sat back and stared at Chad over steepled fingers. “That is Becky Schaeffer. The girl next door.”

Chad turned an acne-scarred face to Robin. His dark, bushy eyebrows knitted together in a frown. “Dude, seriously?” He ran his fingers through a thick tangle of greasy hair as he gazed back out the window. His nose practically touched the glass. “What happened to old Mrs. Larson?”

Robin shrugged. He rose from the chair and crossed to the window. “Kicked it a month ago. Heart attack.”

Chad shot him a look.

Robin rolled his eyes. “What? She was ninety-seven years old!”

Chad shook his head and stepped back. “Dude, you’re cold.”

“Whatever,” Robin said. “You’re just jealous cause you’re not going to have that view all summer.”

They both watched as a slim girl of about seventeen passed by the large, uncovered bedroom window, hips swinging in a tight pair of Levi’s. She bent low, her long dark hair falling in cascades over pale shoulders and an ample chest.

Chad gave a whistle. “Damn, I wish I didn’t have to go to camp this summer. I’d come over more often.”

“Why the hell do your parents send you to that damn camp anyway?” Robin asked, his jaw setting. “I have nothing to do all summer.”

Chad leered. “You do now.”
###

“Need any help?”

Becky looked up, startled. A suspicious look crossed her face as she looked the boy up and down.

Skinny. Glasses. Star Trek T-shirt. Total geek.

She smiled, shifting the weight of the box she was carrying to her other knee. She stepped forward, plopping it suddenly into his wiry arms.

He grinned, showing off a row of yellow teeth behind metal braces. “I’m
Robin. Welcome to suburbia.”

She smiled, turning toward the house. “I’m Becky. You go to Washington High?”

“Yup,” Robin said, panting up a winding flight of stairs behind her. The box was heavy but he appreciated the view.

Did she always welcome strangers into the house this readily? Wasn’t she worried about what might happen?

As if on cue, a thick, lumbering shape squeezed itself out of what looked to be an upstairs bathroom. The landing creaked under the weight of a stocky man in his late thirties, with a pockmarked face and a receding hairline. Hard brown eyes sat too close together over a nose that looked as though it had been broken more than once.

“Oh, hi Dad,” Becky said. “Robin, this is my dad, Pete. Dad, this is Robin.”

Pete leaned over the rail and favored Robin with a crooked grin. “Nice to meet you, son.”

Robin cleared his throat. “Likewise, Sir.”

Robin noticed Pete’s eyes on him as they continued up the stairs. Following Becky into the room he’d seen her in only hours before, he placed the box down just over the threshold and leaned casually in the doorframe.

Pete smiled, shook his head and thundered down the stairs.

Robin released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“Hey, nice computer.” Robin stepped into the room to check out a slick machine sitting atop a mahogany desk.

Becky smiled and shook her head. Total dweeb. “So, what’s to do in this town in the summer?”

Robin stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned against the desk. “Not much, really. We usually hang out at the lake or the mall. Sometimes there’s a scary movie or two playing at the Cineplex. It’s kind of boring, really.”

“Sounds it.”

Robin glanced around the large bedroom. It looked plain with only a full-sized bed, a chest of drawers and the computer. Boxes were piled in various stages of unpacking along the hardwood floor. Robin caught a glimpse of some biology and anatomy books peeking out beneath cardboard. He bet Becky was a straight A student. He had her pegged. She’d be a cheerleader, probably date Bret Mullins, the quarterback and be crowned both Homecoming and Prom queen. The socialites would love her.

“So where did you move from?”

Becky smiled, revealing a row of perfectly white teeth. “Los Angeles.”

“Wow, what made you move from a glitzy place like that to this Podunk town?”

Glitzy? Had he actually just used the word ‘glitzy’?

“Well, things got kind of expensive after my Mom died.”

“Oh…wow, I’m sorry.” Robin shifted his weight on the desk, just enough to hear something slide off the desk and onto the floor.

Becky gasped. “Did it break?” She dove under the desk but Robin was already pulling the webcam up by the cord.

“Let me check,” Robin said, prying open the plastic. Something small and black slipped through his fingers and settled onto the lens. He screwed it back together and held it up like a prize.

“See, it’s fine.”

Becky snatched it and bent to plug it back in. “Good, my uncle would have killed me.”

Robin opened his mouth but was interrupted by a bellow from below.

“Hey Becky! Uncle Mike just called.” Pete’s heavy tread on the stairs caused an echo to reverberate along the still empty house. He appeared in the doorway and grinned when he saw Robin. “Hey, you still here?” Not waiting for an answer, he addressed Becky. “We better get going to the airport. Mike took an earlier flight. He’s waiting.”

Becky’s pretty face fell. She glanced about the room. “Damn.”

“Don’t worry about it,” her dad said. “We’ve got plenty of time to make this house a home.”

Robin stepped toward the door. “Guess I better get going. Let me know if you need any help unpacking.”
 
###

“Sounds like her father was having a field day with you,” Chad said, his face illuminated by the glow of the computer screen.

They were talking on web cam. Chad at camp. Robin at home.

“So, what have you seen, man?”

Robin laughed. “Nothing. It’s only been a couple of hours.”

Chad rolled his eyes. “I still can’t believe you did it.”

“It was easy. Just pretend to knock over the web cam and slip my own little camera in. Nothing to it. She never suspected a thing. Except she probably thinks I’m a complete klutz but that’s a small price to pay.” 

“For that view, I bet.”

“Hey, I just saw a light come on, buddy. It’s show time!”

Robin clicked a button on his computer and a fuzzy image appeared on the screen.

“Dude, you’re recording this, right?”

“Quiet. Yeah.” Robin clicked another button to shift the focus.

“What, you think she’s going to hear you or something?”

Robin ignored him. He smiled. Becky was standing in the middle of the room, two small boxes tucked under each slender arm. She walked toward the desk and Robin got an eyeful of lacy black bra as she bent over, presumably to place the boxes on the floor.

“What’s the grin for, guy? Is she taking it off?”

“Not yet.”

Becky moved to the center of the room, bending over once more to retrieve another box. This time, Robin got a nice shot of her rear end.

“Damn.”

Chad spoke up. “What, dude, what are you seeing? Come on, stop holding out on me!”

“She’s doing a strip tease,” Robin said, distracted. He watched as she did a full body stretch.

“What?”

“I’m recording it man, lay off.”

“You want some alone time?”

“Oh my God, who is this?”

“Somebody else is getting in on the action?”

“No.” Robin made a face. If Becky’s father was the size of a moon, the guy who just walked into Becky’s room was the planet he orbited. “This must be Uncle Mike.”

“She’s getting it on with her uncle?”

“Dude, shut up!” Robin clicked the mute button on the chat screen and watched as Becky’s tiny frame was engulfed by the planet. When she stepped back, Robin noted that her smile looked forced.

I don’t blame her. I wouldn’t want that sweaty thing hugging me even if we were related.

“Come on guy, leave,” Robin said. “This was just about to get good.”

The door opened and the father appeared. They all stood around and began to talk. A minute passed by. Then two. Robin sighed and minimized the window.

Maybe he could stand to talk to Chad a bit longer.

###

It was nearly midnight when Robin looked out of his bedroom window. Becky’s father was outside, smoking a cigarette, talking to somebody just outside Robin’s line of sight. Upstairs, in Becky’s room, a faint light peeked out from behind very recently installed curtains.

Robin opened his laptop and clicked open the webcam screen. A shadow moved across the floor by the closet. A small, low-watt lamp by the bed was the only light source. It was better than the overhead light, he thought. More intimate.

The shadow moved again, teasing him. A piece of fabric fell to the floor just out of sight.

“Come on, Becky. Move a little closer, sweetie.”

Something moved over the lens. The low light made everything a bit fuzzy. Robin looked at the keys, adjusting the focus. Was there a setting that allowed for low light? He minimized the window and brought up a menu screen. He touched, ‘sharpen image’ and brought the webcam window into full screen.

He looked up.

Robin’s eyes bulged and his jaw dropped. His heart raced and his palms became thick with sweat. He blinked once. Twice. Swallowing the thick lump of saliva that had formed in his throat, he stood up, nearly upending his chair.

“Oh my God!”

Robin ran from his room, down the hall, to the bathroom. Ten minutes of splashing with cold water did nothing to clear the image from his mind.

Apparently Uncle Mike slept in the nude.