by Dane Bagley
The long morning shadows of the mountains were disappearing, revealing a beautiful, sunny, fall day. Kevin sat on the moist grass carelessly strumming his acoustic guitar. John had his back to an apple tree with a bright red apple in hand. He kept tossing it up, higher and higher. He enjoyed watching the contrast of the bright red against the blue sky. Two apple cores had been tossed recently and he wasn’t thinking about eating this one.
“So, Amanda’s great,” Kevin said, “I want to go do something cool with her.”
“Nice.”
“Yeah, we really hit it off. Totally in the zone with her, you know—dancin’, talkin’, chillin’…her friend Janice was way cool too. I wanted to introduce you—hook you up, you know. You were pretty occupied, but anyway, she checked you out. She was likin’ what she saw. Janice is gorgeous, and Amanda is super pretty too, and she was diggin’ me, so it all just went from there.”
“You two are already an item, or just hoping to seal the deal?”
“No, were cool, she’s my girl. I didn’t kiss her at the dance, but we were never alone, you know. Janice was brushin’ off all the guys. I think she was waiting for you; but you never materialized. So, I didn’t have any space with Amanda; but hangin’ with both Amanda and Janice wasn’t bad, you know. I was feelin’ like the king,” he said, giving John a knowing smile. His strumming had sped up and increased in volume, a little adrenaline was pumping as he talked.
“Nice,” said John only halfway listening, he was reveling in his own recent memories.
“What do you think? Go to the falls, picnic lunch, maybe go swimin’? There’s some nice hikin’ up there too. Are you in?”
“When?”
“I don’ know, couple of days—whenever they can.”
“Oh. That soon.”
“Sure, why not?”
John shrugged. “She’s not even sixteen yet.”
“Who?”
“Sarah.”
“Sarah Peningham?” Kevin said in an ironic tone.
“Yeah, I’ve got to wait six more weeks before she’s even sixteen,” John responded, not noticing Kevin’s tone.
“Really, I’m surprised.”
“I know.”
“I would have thought it would be at least a year before she was sixteen.”
John caught his apple and looked over at his friend with a mild offence in his expression. Kevin stopped strumming and looked back pleasantly. “She’s young, man. She looks really young.”
“Really?”
Kevin chortled. “Oh yeah. It’s cool, I mean six weeks isn’t too bad. If you’re still interested by then, you don’t have too long to wait.”
“It feels like forever.”
It was Kevin’s turn to glare. “Are you serious, man?” John raised his eyebrows, but didn’t respond verbally. “It’s just that she looks so young, and she’s not very pretty.” John looked hurt, but Kevin went on anyway. “At first I thought it was like a charity dance. I really didn’t know what you were doing. I’m sorry, man. Not meaning to offend—just sayin’ it like it is. Anyway, I’ll lay off Sarah; to each his own. But, either way it’s six weeks. I may go through three girlfriends in six weeks,” only slightly exaggerating, “who knows, maybe I’ll be going out with Janice by then.”
John’s expression softened and he smiled a bit. Kevin was right: he had never kept a girlfriend for such an eternity as six weeks.
“Look, let’s go with Amanda and Janice. It’ll be fun. Sarah can’t go anyway, so she can’t be upset. We’ll do something real cool with Sarah when she’s old enough. Come on, man. Plus, Janice is awesome. You’ll be impressed, I’m tellin’ you. She’s the kind of girl that could make you forget about anyone else. I’m just sayin’. At least she could make those six-weeks cruise on by.”
John smiled. “I don’ know.”
“Now look who’s not being cool.”
“Alright, but you owe me. We’re going to give Sarah the best sweet-sixteen first date a girl could have. I’m depending on your creativity.”
“Deal.”
John and Kevin both had reputations as players and heartbreakers. Neither of those were completely deserved. John had no interest in girlfriends. He had never actually had a girlfriend. He dated a lot, and was extraordinarily popular—desired. But, when the girl got that look in her eyes, he always backed off. It was always too late, and another heart was broken. He wasn’t trying to be a player; he wasn’t just dating for fun. He didn’t intend to break any hearts, but if he gave a girl his attention, for even a little while, her heart was sure to be broken. John was hardly aware of the effect that he had on the girls. A smile, a dance, some friendly conversation would be all it took to have a heart primed for shattering. What John did want to do was to court the girl that he would marry. Up to this point, every girl he had known came up lacking. As soon as she was serious, he no longer saw the point. What was the point of holding the hand, writing love letters, whispering sweet nothings, or kissing just any girl? No, he only wanted to share those things with the girl that would be his girl forever.
Kevin, on the other hand, couldn’t have been more on the other extreme. He saw no point in looking for love with the girls he went out with. The thought of marrying any of them wouldn’t cross his mind. He was dating for the pure pleasure of the experience. He wanted girlfriends. Lots of girlfriends. Girlfriends brought many pleasantries with them. They were soft, warm, nice smelling, and great to look at. Hugs and kisses were an extraordinary delicacy, and each girl brought something different and special to the experience. Kevin was a player, but he had never broken a heart. Like Kevin, the girls that he was attracted to wanted the same thing. They were not looking for lasting love, but rather the pleasure of the present. Once they had both experienced what they would from each other, they were both ready to move on. Lots of past girlfriends, but none angry or jealous.
John, the unwitting heartbreaker, and Kevin the non-heartbreaking player, were quite the team. No wonder their reputation. Still, they were the cream of the crop and all the girls knew that someone would nab them one day. Janice and Amanda thought that they had the stuff.
Janice was a gorgeous, platinum blond. With blue eyes, long dark lashes, full lips, a great figure, and exquisite long legs, she could have made a Barbie doll jealous. Amanda was not her equal, but wasn’t bad in her own right. Black, mid-length full bodied hair, dark chocolate colored eyes, and a perfect smile adorned her pretty face. She was a little shorter than Janice, but otherwise was nicely shaped. Janice was more subdued than Amanda, but they both had very engaging personalities.
“I told you. Sometimes in the dark dance hall you meet a girl and think she’s great. Then you see her in the daylight and you think, ‘man, it must have been dark in there.’ But, not those two. Wow, seriously sweet. Tomorrow will be awesome.”
“They’re pretty all right.” John smiled and looked over at Kevin. He was starting to feel defensive, and was regretting agreeing to go out with Janice. There wasn’t technically any understanding between him and Sarah, but somehow he still didn’t feel right about it. What would she say? What would she think if she saw him with her? He felt like he was betraying her. Still, he rationalized that there was nothing wrong with it. Plus, he and Kevin would show her a great time in just a few weeks. Did she expect him to just sit around and wait—watch the grass grow—while he waited for her to turn sixteen? Of course, that would be what she was doing—waiting, patiently waiting.
The next afternoon Kevin and Amanda walked hand in hand up the trail chatting pleasantly. John and Janice beside them, hands apart, also were having a nice conversation. She really was cool. She was more confident than the other girls that he’d dated. She was more mature, and carried herself so naturally. The thing that impressed him the most was how polite she was. The longer they were together the less defensive John felt. In fact, he was really enjoying himself. Unlike most of their double dates, where it was more like a foursome hanging out and having a good time together, this was
more like a single date with another couple happening to be in the vicinity. Kevin and Amanda were in their own world, as were John and Janice.
Soon John was smiling comfortably as he talked, and as he listened. She got his humor—she was no silly, giggly girl, but she laughed naturally when he was clever. She also could bring a smile to his face, and a chuckle from time to time. They had similar interests: they both loved reading, even some of the same books. They were both into fitness, and loved the outdoors. IQ wise, they were on the same level, and it was high.
When they reached the top of the trail the waterfalls were in full view. It was a warm sunny fall day in the early afternoon. The couples were about fifteen feet apart, and in no time Amanda was in Kevin’s arms. After staring at the lovely falls for a few minutes John saw them plant a kiss on each other. It may have been their first kiss together, but it was clearly not either of their first kisses.
“You’d never know it’s their first date would you,” Janice whispered to John as she put her hand on his muscular triceps and led him in a way to turn his attention from them.
Very discreet, he thought. She helped him get the blanket set on some flat grassy ground with a perfect view of the falls. They opened up the picnic basket and started divvying up the lunch. Kevin and Amanda joined them and lunch was underway. Janice sat with her back to the falls. She wore a just-above-the-knee length yellow dress. Her perfectly shaped legs were positioned in front of her and to the side, giving John an excellent view. She looked absolutely radiant with her blond hair, yellow dress, and flawless skin positioned in front of the magnificent falls. Her fingernails were painted red, and matched perfectly her lipstick. Even the way she ate was charming to him as she ate the small, white, crust-less sandwiches that he and Kevin had prepared.
Amanda couldn’t stop talking, and a few times part of her food came shooting out of her mouth, to which Kevin teased her relentlessly. She would laugh right along with him; no blushing from this girl. Kevin and Amanda were quite the pair. They seemed like they had known each other all of their lives. John had been with Kevin along with nearly all of his girlfriends, but he had never seen him with a girl that he seemed so compatible with. Although in front of him was a scene of loveliness unparalleled, he couldn’t help but stare at Amanda. She was so animated, and seemed so well matched to his best friend. He looked back at Janice, and she gave him a wink. She seemed to know the meaning of his stare.
After finishing tasty strawberry shortcake, Kevin and Amanda weren’t shy about helping to remove the whipped cream around each other’s lips. After chatting pleasantly all together for a quarter of an hour Kevin announced, “I’m ready to hit the water.”
The girls nodded in agreement and everyone started shifting to a standing position. John had grown rather fond of the beauty in front of him. But then the uncomfortable feeling came over him again. She was so beautiful as she was, the idea of seeing her in a swimsuit felt indulgent, and he thought of Sarah again. Would she want him swimming with this beautiful girl? They were all standing, and John stared at Janice awkwardly. Janice smiled sweetly and motioned with her fingers for the boys to turn around. The girls wore their suits underneath their outfits, and Amanda had begun to remove her outer clothes with the boys looking on. Both Kevin and John turned around and removed their shirts, leaving their shorts as their swimming trunks.
When they turned around both girls were wearing modest one-piece bathing suits, but no bathing suit could hide their exquisite feminine charm. John could feel his heart rate increase as he looked on.
“Let’s go,” exclaimed Kevin as he took off and ran to the side of the fifteen-foot cliff, diving in head first. Amanda took off gleefully and jump gracefully, performing a perfect jack-knife dive.
John’s eyes were wide open, and he looked over at Janice who was standing beside him facing the cliff. She reached for his hand and the two walked to the cliffs edge. Their hands felt like a perfect match together. At the cliffs edge they could see Kevin and Amanda splashing each other playfully, giving plenty of room for their friends to dive in. Janice let go of Johns hand and after giving him a quick smile, dived in gracefully. Once the coast was clear John jumped in. He went feet first, bending his right leg and grabbing around it with his arms so as to create an enormous splash. All three had ganged up on him and were splashing him when he resurfaced. The water was very cool and the air outside was warm but certainly not hot. Swimming, playing, and diving had gone on for half an hour when John noticed Janice shiver.
“Cold?” he asked her.
She hesitated, not wanting to ruin the fun. Then she shivered again and nodded. “A little.”
Amanda was then on top of Kevin’s shoulders. “Janice, hop on John. Let’s play chicken,” shouted Amanda.
“I think we’ve got this one, they clearly are chicken,” said Kevin good-naturedly.
John and Janice exchanged a look. “Let’s get ‘em,” he said with a wink.
Janice smiled and made her way over to John as he turned around and went under. In a moment, she was on his shoulders and he stood up confidently. John was taller, stronger, and more athletic than Kevin. Kevin didn’t like losing at anything, so he usually wouldn’t challenge John to a game of this nature. But the boys had both spent enough time with these girls to know that Kevin had a tiger on his shoulders compared to the kitten on Johns. This would be an interesting challenge and John thought it would be fun.
Kevin looked at John with the look of a champion. Amanda looked like she was ready to take on the world. John could only image the look on Janice’s face, and he wasn’t expecting much. The battle was fierce. John used his strength and leverage as best he could to balance and bring Kevin off balance. Kevin fought with everything he had, fully trusting his partner on top to carry the day. But even beautiful, soft kittens have claws, and Janice was no exception. She was stronger and taller than Amanda. She also wasn’t about to lose, and while everyone was thinking of her as the weak link she was thinking of John as an invincible anchor. It took just under a minute, but soon Amanda was toppling over backwards and Kevin fighting to the end was being taken with her. Amanda and Kevin came up to a scene of John beating his chest standing tall with Janice fully out of the water and her arms in the air shouting, “Champions!”
They looked like a team: both extraordinarily beautiful, strong, tall, and fit. Kevin was not about to challenge them again. Losing once was bad enough, but to lose twice would put him in a bad mood. He didn’t want to be in a bad mood. This had been his best date of all time.
“Race ya,” said Amanda as she took a head start. Kevin raced forward grabbing her foot and pulling her back, then darting into the lead. They were back in their own world.
John didn’t crouch down to let Janice off of his shoulders. Instead he walked over to the bank and let her off on land.
“Let’s get you warm,” he said.
“I need to dry off, but I don’t want to get my dress wet. I’d rather wait until I’m dry.”
“I should’ve brought towels. It’s not as warm as it was a few weeks ago. Here, you can put my shirt on.”
John brought his shirt and put it around Janice. They sat on the ground in the sun both facing the water. John put his arm around Janice, and she snuggled in comfortably. He gently ran his hand up and down her arm as her shivering increased.
Janice looked up into his eyes and smiled. “Thank you, that feels nice.”
She really was beautiful and sweet. She felt so perfect in his arms. John’s heart rate had been up from the chicken fight and carrying Janice around. But the primary reason his heart was beating hard and fast was because of the beauty in his arms. He knew that she was his if he wanted her to be. Just one week before he had never met a girl that he saw any future in. During this week, he had met two. Janice was everything that he could have imagined a girl could be, before he had met Sarah.
Chapter 6