by Lila Felix
She scrunched up her face in confusion. “Ok, first of all, I didn’t want to worry you and it wasn’t that big of a deal. Second, I handled it. I called the police, they looked around, there was nothing. I’m not trying to be a wench or anything here, and I appreciate your worry, I do. But I have taken care of myself for a long time.”
“Okay, fine, sorry.” I opened the menu and shielded myself from her, mostly because she was right. She could take care of herself. And I was an ass for assuming anything less. I was also an ass for thinking for a flat second that she needed me. A girl like this doesn’t need anyone. So, I could worry about her but she could take care of herself anyway?
The waitress came back and we both ordered and then we couldn’t use our menus as objects to hide behind anymore.
“Look, I’m sorry.” We spoke at the same time. “I’m sorry.”
I reached across the table and she wove her fingers in mine. “I know you can take care of yourself. I do. But that’s not going to stop me from caring about you or being concerned when something is wrong with you.” I shrugged.
She pressed her fingers to her lips as stopping them from moving before she was ready for them to speak. She opened her mouth and of course our food came at that exact moment. We both started eating and a few bites in she stopped and rubbed her feet against my legs under the table to get my attention—as if she didn’t have it every second we were together.
“My parents dropped me off at Wellsley three days after my sixth birthday. Technically, I missed the deadline. I had to be six by the end of May but my Dad threw a good sized check at the Headmaster so I could circumvent that little stipulation. And by dropped me off, I mean gave me my little pink suitcase from the trunk of the car, watched me walk up to the school’s entrance and drove off before I even touched the handle. My Mom never got out of the car. So, I put on this big tough face and never looked back again. I’ve never relied on anyone for anything with the exception of my parents paying for school. I didn’t have parents who visited me on holidays and I stayed at the dorms and worked during Christmas vacation and Spring Break. It’s not that I don’t want your help. I’m just not sure I know how to accept it. I certainly don’t know how to ask for it. Sorry, I’m rambling.”
She shrugged and smiled, satisfied with her spiel. Then she returned to eating like she hadn’t just revealed a tragedy and solid reasoning behind who she was.
“I guess you’re going to have to learn to let me know when and if you ever need me. You’re gonna have to learn how to ask if you need me.”
“Ok.”
We continued to talk about her school. She told me stories of how she managed to creatively get into trouble and then argue her way out of actually being in trouble. It was funny and telling at the same time. This was what made her different.
We finished eating and walked back to the truck. She didn’t even try to sit by the door anymore. She pulled out some lip—stuff from her purse and put it on. I reached over with my right hand and squeezed her thigh.
“Mmmhmmm, gettin’‘em ready?” I could feel her shaking in laughter next to me.
“Yeah, that’s my sole purpose tonight. Your lips on mine.”
“I knew it. You’re only with me for my body.” She held the dashboard, hoping it would help her contain her laughter quicker.
“It’s true.”
We pulled up to the little booth to buy our tickets and the first movie started in fifteen minutes. So, now I just needed to see if I had the cajones to ask her.
“What’s the matter with you?” She turned in her seat, able now to take her seatbelt off since we were parked.
“How did you know something was wrong?” I turned a bit to face her.
“Because when you’re thinking about something, or over-thinking something you clench your jaw and your temples, even your ears, move when you do. It’s like you’re chewing on your thoughts.”
I must’ve been doing it while she spoke because she put her hand on my face at my jawline. “See what I mean?”
“Yeah,” I took her hand and held it in between both of mine. “So, we’re going to start school soon.”
“And you’re afraid your girlfriend will find out about us?” She giggled.
“No, I’m afraid that I won’t be able to introduce you as my girlfriend because I never brought it up like a dork.”
Corinne
Suddenly, I was dropped down into totally unfamiliar territory. My face, my chest, my ears, parts of me that I didn’t know were capable of a blush suddenly flared to life, blood vessels beating against the threshold of my skin. Was he serious? Be cool Corinne, be cool.
“You have to say it Abel. You can’t just dance around it.”
He looked out of the front windshield for a minute and then took his cap off and repositioned it so that the bill faced the back. “I want to. I want to walk into school with my hand in yours and when people ask who you are I want to say ‘This is Corinne, my girlfriend.’ But if you think it’s too fast, or you’re not ready, just let me know.”
To watch him squirm was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. “You’re second guessing again, Abel.”
He huffed out a laugh that wasn’t from comedy. He put his hands on either side of my face and kissed me full on the mouth and then pulled back rubbing his lips against mine. Then he kissed only my bottom lip, pulling it a little bit between his lips. “Be mine,” he whispered. For a second I pictured a red, heart-shaped card with elementary writing inside. He kissed me again before I could answer and I fisted the front of his shirt, looking for some semblance of steadiness. I eventually managed to nod, it was the best I could do. He held my face for a few more minutes and then pecked me one last time.
“Popcorn?” he asked as he pulled his door open.
“Yeah, a water too.” He nodded once and left me alone and I needed it. I looked around the drive-in lot. The people around the truck were just going about their business as if nothing had just happened to me. I wiped my palms on the thighs of my jeans and let out a monster sigh.
He got back in the car with the biggest box of popcorn I’d ever seen and the water for me. The movie screen came to life and showed dinky commercials with hot dogs and sodas dancing. It made me think of John Travolta singing about being stuck at the drive-in.
“Ok, I’m going to put my arm on you. Don’t go jumping anywhere.”
“Ha, ha, ha, so funny. The movie hasn’t even started yet.”
He put his arm over my shoulder and I leaned into him. Even though I knew the movie almost by heart, the blood flood in the Shining still creeped me out. I shuddered and he laughed and kissed my temple. Halfway through the movie he put his popcorn bucket on the floorboard on the passenger side and shook his head a little. “That kid needs a straight jacket.”
I felt myself fading. I was still exhausted from not sleeping the night before but I didn’t want to be a drag. The second movie, Jeepers Creepers, started up and I could basically recite every word of that movie so I knew it wasn’t going to keep me awake.
“I think we’d better get you home. You’ve nodded off twice and the movie has only been on for ten minutes.”
“I don’t want to ruin the date.”
“Not a chance. Let’s go.” We drove back to Sibley and as we pulled into the driveway I swore that I saw someone running through the backyard.
“Stay here.” He whispered and reached behind his seat for a flashlight.
“Are you nuts? Have you learned nothing from horror movies? The one left behind in the car is the first to get hacked.” I sounded like I learned how to whisper in a saw mill.
“Ughh..fine, come on.” He took me by the hand and shined his flashlight around the backyard. “Do you have your phone?
“Yeah,” I whispered, well, tried to whisper. He said over his shoulder, “Call the cops again. There was someone here.”
We checked the house. All of the doors were locked, windows were shut and lights were out. But it still s
cared me. The same police officer came and did everything but roll his eyes at me. I must’ve interrupted his lunch or something because he was pissed.
I unlocked the door and hesitated going inside even though Abel and the policeman had checked out every room and cleared it. But I was losing steam fast and wanted to go to sleep, pronto. I stood there debating which one would win. I turned to Abel and he saw my dilemma.
“I’m waiting for you to ask, honey.”
“Honey?” It sounded like a name an old grandpa called his wife.
“Yeah, your hair is the color of honey, makes sense.”
He walked over to me and pulled me into his embrace, the warmth of his chest against my face calming my senses. I stood there and breathed him in, wrestling with admitting that I wanted his protection, needed his presence tonight.
“Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?”
There, I asked for help. See? I can do it.
“Of course.” He answered immediately as if he already had prepped the response in his head. And though I expected it, he didn’t prod me about finally asking for something or gloat that he had won.
He let me walk upstairs and change clothes and I called down to him when I was ready. He came into the room and took off his shoes. My legs weakened as I thought about he and I in bed together, even if we were just sleeping, I wasn’t sure I was ready for that. He plopped onto the chair by the window, grabbed my latest book and nodded his head a little bit towards me. I stopped in front of him, weighing my sitting options.
He put the book on the chair’s arm and reached out and grabbed my hips. He flexed his fingers and I relented, letting him turn me and pull me down onto his lap. I sat on him sideways and his left arm curled around my shoulders. I laid my head against his chest and he read to himself, breathing into my hair. I could feel his fingers leave my arm and rub my waist just below my rib cage and I was a goner.
Abel
She slept on my lap. We solidified that we were more than just dating. I should be happy. I was happy on one hand, but on the other I was terrified. I should’ve stayed away from her. If I stayed away from her she would have a shot at avoiding being targeted by Brett. But now, as my girlfriend, he would be after her for sure. That’s what he did. Ryan started dating Christine last year and after the third date Brett informed him that she was no longer interested in him. The next day, Christine and Brett were caught making out in the theatre. After that the rest of the guys didn’t date, or hid it well. In hindsight, we were all chicken shit for letting him rule us, but we weren’t interested in rocking the boat. But Corinne wasn’t Christine, not even in the same league. And we only had one year left. We could make it through one year.
She asked me to stay until she fell asleep but if I left now I would worry about her all night. I picked her up and put her in bed and pulled up the covers over her arms. I got a blanket off the edge of her bed and watched outside the window from that chair. Tomorrow I would have to convince her to call the Stephenson’s and tell them what was going on. I saw the keypads by the doors but the alarm system must not be activated. That needed to change. I went downstairs twice to make sure all of the doors and windows were locked and then fell asleep in the chair.
Sunday she called the Stephenson’s and Angela said she would call the alarm company Monday morning and re-activate the alarm system. According to Corinne, they sounded concerned. That meant that until Monday, I wouldn’t feel safe. I went home after the phone call and showered, changed and slept a little. I made her promise to keep her phone on her at all times and she had the policeman’s personal cell phone number. Plus, no one would try anything during the day.
My parents didn’t even notice that I didn’t come home last night. I slept until late afternoon and then texted Corinne.
A: What’s the plan for today?
C: Mandatory lunch with the robots.Alarm man came this morning.
A: Gotcha
I drove over and when I pulled in the driveway there was a ‘Sound the Alarm’ truck parked next to Corinne’s truck. I was relieved and disappointed too. She wouldn’t need me anymore. She probably never did.
I walked in the side door; it was already open and came face to face with Brett’s Dad and Brett.
“Hey man, what’s up? What are you doing here?”
Weird number one: Brett knew exactly where I was working this summer. It was a small town. Weird number two: How did I not remember that Brett’s Dad owned a chain of alarm system companies? My stomach turned at the thought of Corinne meeting Brett and him knowing where she lived.
“You know I work here for the summer,” I turned to Mr. Anderson and shook his hand.
“Yeah, and isn’t there some girl who stays here too? Is she hot?” Brett’s dad turned around, “There’s work to do Brett. The Stephenson’s paid us almost double to get over here today and have this system up and running. Get to work. You can talk to Abel anytime.”
Brett gave his dad a crude finger motion but obeyed and got to work. Brett packed up their tools. When he left, Mr. Anderson groaned about Brett being late and now he was done. They gave me the code and left. The code needed to be changed as soon as Corinne got home. I felt better already. And I was more than relieved that for the time being I had avoided the meeting of Corinne and Brett.
I texted Corinne to let her know.
Abel: Alarm is installed. What are you up to?
Corinne: Leaving restaurant now.
Abel: Headed ur way.
I sat on the side stairs and waited for her, already eager to see her. She pulled up and she got out and smiled at me. My Corinne was back.
“So, I brought my boyfriend a burger and fries, have you seen him?” Smug was so damned cute on her.
“I don’t know—what does he look like?”
“Six feet tall, longish dirty blonde hair, matching eyes, sexy as all get out.” She giggled at that last bit.
“You’re playing with fire, woman.” I growled as she neared me, so much slower than I wanted her to.
“Maybe I wanna get burned.” She said and I nearly fell off of the stairs.
“And you talk about my comments? Yours are so much worse.”
She handed me the box and we went inside. I ate while she changed the code. She came back in and took a pen from one of the drawers and wrote something on my hand.
“What is that?” I said.
“It’s the code to get in. What, did you think it was another girl’s phone number?”
“You’re not supposed to give it to me Corinne. What if I’m secretly a sex-crazed freak?”
“I might like it.” Her straight face didn’t last long. She lay over the counter, snorted and laughed until tears came out of her eyes. It really wasn’t that funny anymore. She had to know that those kinds of statements were never funny to a guy, no matter how much he laughed.
“So, how was lunch with the robots?” A vision of the robot from the Jetsons sprang to mind.
“Weird. They are going on some trip to Mexico for two weeks. And they’re driving. I mean, I had some inkling that my parents were off but they go on and on about being practical and downsizing but then they’re driving to Mexico for two weeks. And who drives to Mexico? No one.”
“Are you going with them,” I asked and it sounded so desperate.
“Are you kidding me? I could barely stand to eat lunch with them. My mom didn’t even look at the menu. My dad just ordered her whatever he wanted her to have, which was a salad with no dressing and water. And then I ordered this pork loin and risotto dish and he choked on his iced tea. So, I thought it was because of the price, but it was too late. And then, the waitress brought me my own ticket. So what the hell was that all about? I’m telling you, weird.”
“Well, Mexico is not all that far. Who knows.” I shrugged, her parents were a little weird but at least they didn’t practically fondle each other in front of her.
“So, what are we doing tonight? I asked after I threw the to-go box i
n the trash.
“Sean is coming over to watch movies with me.”
“Oh, my first night with a girlfriend and I’ll be alone. Damn, it sucks to be me.”
She poked her bottom lip out and I leaned over to her and took it between my teeth. She stood completely statuesque and if she was surprised by my boldness, she never showed it. I chuckled at her as I pulled away. She stood against the kitchen counter and looped her fingers in the front two loops of my jeans. She pulled them forward so that our hips met and I groaned in frustration. She had to know what she did to me and with our hips joined as I leaned against her, there was no way she didn’t.
She reached up and pulled my face to hers by grasping onto the back of my hair and I was grateful I hadn’t cut it. If I had my way, it would stay this length forever. Her mouth took the lead this time. I loved the feel of her satin lips against mine. She always felt a few degrees colder than me but I didn’t mind being the one who warmed her, any way I could. But when her mouth opened, my hands took it as permission to work their way up from the outward curve of her hips and inwards with the shape of her waist underneath her shirt. And I was sure there was nothing, no silk, no skin, no other woman, that could compare to the feel of her waist under my palms. What I wouldn’t give to know what she looked like under those clothes.
She slowed the kiss down and finally ended the moment with a peck and thumped her forehead against my shoulder. I took the cue and moved my hands around to her back. I hoped I hadn’t gone too far.
“Was it too much? I’m sorry.” I whispered into her hair.
“No, I just…I’ve never…,” she huffed out a humorless laugh. “No guy has ever…”
“That’s a good thing, and rare these days. And for my sake, I’m glad.”
“Why?” She looked up at me and really didn’t know what I meant.
“Because I never want to think about someone else’s hands on you.”
“Oh.”
I moved my hips away from her and just held her for a few minutes. And time after time, I was shocked that she let me.