Little Gangster (Part 7) Jet Meets Leti

It was 1973. His name was Jet. He acquired that name as a result of his exploits in the parks and playgrounds of East Los Angeles. He was a very fast runner. In high school he was a track and football star. He did not have a dad, but he was real close to his mother. She was very proud of him but didn't really encourage him to go to college. He was offered scholarships to college but after high school graduation he chose to go to a community college close to his house. He had a good year in both football and track. Jet was very popular. The school he attended was proud of him and offered him a full-time job in the athletic department, even though he had no degree. He accepted it and he liked it very much. He worked full-time and was enrolled as a part-time student. He bought himself a brand new Chevy Monte Carlo, just before his 23rd birthday. He had a girlfriend from Santa Monica who was the daughter of an accountant. He had met her after a track meet that was held at UCLA. Her name was Tiffany. Tiffany's family was a very devout Catholic family. Jet was also Catholic but he never attended Church. He loved Tiffany. He respected her. Occasionally they went out on a date, but usually he just visited her at her house while her parents were there, they really liked Jet. She was a senior at UCLA, and very busy. Jet liked to work out. He stayed in shape. Sometimes he worked out at school, sometimes he ran in the neighborhood. One day he was running in his neighborhood. He kept running and running. He actually left his neighborhood and ventured into another neighborhood. He found himself in the middle of the projects. Somebody recognized him. She was an admirer. She yelled: "Hey big guy, when are you taking me for a ride in your new Chevy?" He stopped and looked to see who it was. There she was; standing in front of the projects where she lived. The most beautiful chola he had ever seen. She was wearing a pink spaghetti-strap shirt, that exposed her belly-button, white shorts, big gold hoop earrings, gold sandals and not too much makeup on her olive complexion. She had long, black, curly hair, and hazel eyes. Self-assured, he strutted over to where she was. "Hi, whats' your name?" He asked. Leti. Que Barrio?" "City Terrace." He responded. "Aren't you a little far from home?" "Yeah, just a little. Wanna run back with me? Or will your boyfriend get mad?" "My boyfriend is locked up. He's in San Quentin, he's a gangster, and he ain't getting out for a while. And no, I don't wanna run anywhere. I don't like to run, I don't like to get all sweaty unless I'm dancing. Do you like to dance?" "A little bit. Wanna walk a few blocks with me?" "Sure," she said. They walked toward City Terrace for about 5 blocks. Then they stopped. There was still a long way to go, and Jet had to get the rest of his run finished. Leti had told Jet that she lived with her older sister, Lupe. Lupe had two small children. Leti also had a child. He was 4years old. He stayed with her boyfriend's mom. Leti was 21 years old. She liked to party. He got her phone number. In those days there were no cell phones. Jet asked if he could come by the next night. She said of course. The "of course" got to him. He liked Leti. He ran home pretty fast; thinking about her all the way home. He knew he had a girlfriend; but that didn't seem to matter. Jet called Leti later that night. They talked on the phone for about an hour. Later he called Tiffany. They talked on the phone for about ten minutes.