Joseph ushered her into a web of metal supports beneath the benches. "Watch your head," he said. She noticed a lot of cigarette butts, empty beer cans, and old balloons underneath the bleachers.
"This place is gross," she said. Why would Joseph take her here? She didn't want to sit around in the trash. She wanted to get away from this town. Money didn't matter as long as she had Joseph. "Let's go back to the car and forget about all of this. We can be happy without millions of dollars."
"You don't get it, do you? It's not just about the money. I'll be the most famous scientist ever when this stuff hits the market. Bigger than Einstein or Newton. Years from now everyone will be teaching about me in science classes. Do you want me to throw that away? You want to take that away from me? I won't let you! I won't let you steal my destiny!"
As he spoke, his face turned red and spit formed at the corners of his mouth. The tendons in his neck tightened until she thought they might snap. She hadn't seen anyone this angry before. She took a step back, banging her head into one of the supports and falling down. She felt the back of her head, but there wasn't any blood, only a throbbing headache that brought tears to her eyes. "I'm sorry, Joseph. I didn't realize this meant so much to you. I'll help you. I'd do anything for you."
He knelt down to kiss the back of her head where she'd run into the support. "I know you will. I'm sorry. Now let me show you what the other kids do under here." He kissed her on the mouth, his breath tasting rancid from the beer and cigarettes. She almost gagged on the taste of his tongue inside her mouth, but forced herself to kiss him back. They were in this together now.