1982: Maneater (Love in the 80s #3)

by Cambria Hebert

  “That’s why I stopped coming around,” I admitted. “When he left, it was hard. I didn’t take it very well.”

  “That’s understandable.”

  “I stopped playing baseball. I didn’t want to go anywhere, or be friends with anyone. I was just so mad at him. At night I could hear my mom crying in her room. She thought I couldn’t hear. I still haven’t told her I could.”

  This time when she reached for my hand I didn’t pull away.

  “That had to have been a terrible time for you and your mom. I wish I’d known. I know we were just kids, but I’d have tried to help.”

  I nodded. She would have. I knew it then and I knew it now. “It was too hard to be around you. I was so mad, mad at the world. I was mad you had a mom and a dad who loved you. Your dad is great, Kel. He’d never turn his back on you.”

  “So you stopped wanting to hang out.”

  It was like it was all clicking into place.

  “It went on for a while, over a year. But my mom started worrying. She didn’t cry about Dad anymore, but about me. I saw it when she looked at me. So I started studying more, getting good grades. I met my best friend, Ryan at a science camp I went to over the summer, then the next year we were in the same class.”

  “Is he the one with the suspenders?” she asked.

  I laughed. “Yeah. He thinks they look good.”

  “I’m sure he’s very nice, but suspenders just aren’t for anyone.”

  “Why don’t you tell him that?”

  “Maybe I will.” She smiled.

  I grinned. Ryan would crap his pants if Kelly Ross talked to him. He’d die if he knew I was with her right now and I was staying at her house.

  “Anyway, I really liked science. It made me feel like I was in control of something, you know? Equations and elements. Everything had a reason and a logical answer. It made more sense to me than all the other stuff, you know?”

  She nodded. “Makes sense.”

  “I didn’t realize you thought I blew you off.” I felt kind of dumb for not seeing it until now. I’d been so caught up in myself and what was happening at home.

  “I understand now. You probably thought the same thing that day at lunch.”

  “You had new friends, cooler ones. I thought I embarrassed you.”

  “Maybe you did,” she whispered. “I was hurt. I thought I did something wrong to make you go away. So I made new friends. When you came over that day, people laughed. So I laughed too. I was afraid they’d laugh at me if I didn’t.”

  “We grew apart,” I mused.

  “In different directions,” she added.

  More thunder rolled and the rain was unrelenting.

  I held out my hand to her. “What do you say we get out of here before this shack falls over?”

  “In the rain?” her eyes rounded.

  “I don’t think it’s letting up anytime soon,” I pointed out.

  She seemed unconvinced.

  “C’mon, it will be like all those times we used to play in the rain.”

  Kelly slid her hand into mine and allowed me to pull her to her feet. We stood there for long seconds in the dark, staring into one another’s eyes.

  She was still there. The girl who’d been my best friend.

  Deep down, she was there.

  The more things change the more they stay the same.

  The meaning of that statement was suddenly clear. It was there, in the depths of Kelly’s eyes.

  Circumstances change, people change with them. Everything around us has the ability to change. But who we are, at our very core… it doesn’t.

  Who we are as people – on the most basic of level – it doesn’t change.

  And at Kelly’s most basic level was a good person. A good friend. A daughter loved by her parents. She was afraid of the dark.

  She was who I wanted.

  Even back then when I was barely seven years old, I knew.

  My most basic level knew Kelly was the one.

  Maybe that was why I spent so many years being angry at her for changing.

  I changed too, though.

  But we were both still here all along.

  “You ready for this?” I asked, grabbing hold of the door.

  “I think so,” she replied.

  I couldn’t help but feel like we were talking about more than the rain.

  The second we stepped out, we were drenched beneath the downpour. Kelly shrieked and pulled my jacket around her.

  My hand gripped hers tighter because the water made her skin slick as we dashed across the grass.

  “Agh!” Kelly yelled and our hands were yanked apart.

  I glanced behind me at her figure sprawled out on the grass. She had slipped and fell.

  I rushed back to her side as she pushed herself up. Her front was entirely covered in mud and grass.

  “Damn heels!” she cried and pulled them off her feet and threw them beside her.

  I grinned so hard water ran into my mouth.

  She glowered at me. “It’s not funny!”

  It was totally funny. She looked ridiculous with her make-up smeared, her hair plastered to her head, and mud and grass streaked all over her.

  I held out my hand to help her up and she took it.

  But instead of pulling her up, she pulled me down.

  I landed in a heap right beside her, my white t-shirt instantly filthy.

  “Hey!” I roared.

  She laughed. A real, genuine laugh, and I tackled her, pressing her into the soaked ground with my weight.

  “Eric!” she screeched. “Ew!” she pushed at my shoulders but I wasn’t going anywhere until I wanted to.

  I pushed up just enough so I could look down at her beneath me.

  Something in the air changed around us and our smiles faded away.

  My entire body was soaked as rain tried to drown us. But I was already drowning in her eyes.

  Water dripped off my nose and chin, the drops falling down onto her as I swiped at the wetness and the streaks of make-up on her cheeks.

  “I must look a mess,” she said.

  “You look beautiful,” I replied.

  She felt perfect under me, her body pressed against mine. I wanted to taste her again, to press my lips upon hers once more.

  A bolt of lightning lit up the dark and she jumped. “We should go!”

  Reluctantly, I got up and pulled her to her feet. She gathered her muddy heels and held them against her chest as we dashed through the yard and onto the sidewalk. As we ran she fished the keys out of her purse and tossed them to me.

  “You drive!”

  The car came into sight and I gave a shout of relief. I rushed to open the passenger side door, and the key slipped the first time as I shoved it in the lock.

  “Wait!” she yelled as I held the door open for her to jump inside.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I yelled over the rain.

  Kelly was staring past me and the car down the street. “This is Todd’s car!”

  “So?” I said, not bothering to look where she pointed.

  “So, he tried to punch you.”

  “Tried is the optimal word here,” I said. I knew how to defend myself. I didn’t just take science, I also took some boxing classes.

  “He insulted you!”

  “Who cares!” I gestured for the car.

  “Me!” She took the door and slammed it shut and took off in the direction of his car.

  I ran after her, giving up all hope of getting dry any time soon.

  She stopped beside a red Mazda RX-7 and then glanced all around.

  “C’mon!” I yelled at her, wondering what the hell she planned to do.

  “Do you see anyone around?” she asked.

  Alarmed I glanced around. “No.”

  She ran over to the opposite side of the sidewalk and picked up a large rock. It was big enough that her fingers didn’t wrap all the way around it.

  Before I could say anything she ran
over and bashed it into his headlight, which shattered instantly.

  She looked up at me as the glass fell onto the road and grinned.

  I couldn’t help but smile.

  She looked ridiculous and wild just then.

  I held out my hand and she reached for mine. A few steps toward our car she yanked free and threw the rock. It hit the passenger side window and sent a huge crack right up the center.

  “Hurry up!” I yelled, wanting to get out of here now more than ever. The last thing we needed was to get caught.

  Seconds later, we were in the car and heading toward her house. Both of us were soaked through, full of mud and grinning ear to ear.

  “What the hell was that?” I asked.

  “That was me doing what I should have done the minute he called you a charity case.”

  I chuckled and focused on the road.

  “You aren’t, you know that right?” she said a few minutes later, I felt her eyes on me.

  I glanced over quickly. “What?”

  “A charity case. You aren’t. You’re actually a really great guy.”

  “You should let people see this side of you more often,” I said.

  “You mean the side of me that vandalizes jerk’s cars?” she giggled.

  I smiled. “No. the side of you I’ve always known. The one who cares about more than being popular.”

  “I’m not sure if people would like that me,” she confided.

  “I am, because she’s pretty great.”

  I wished Kelly could see herself as I did tonight. She was more real right now that she’d been to me in years. Even more real than when I kissed her under the stars.

  Man, I wanted to kiss her now.

  If she could, then she’d see. Kelly didn’t have to be who she thought everyone wanted, all she had to be was herself.

  Terms used when dating:

  1st base – Kiss with tongue.

  2nd base – Felt up, Fingered Handjob.

  3rd base – Oral sex.

  Home run – Intercourse.

  My dad’s car was still gone, which meant we were home alone.

  Eric parked in the driveway and we ran around the back of the house to enter through the back door that opened into the mudroom.

  Both of us were so wet we were dripping, and I knew if we dragged mud all over the floors my mom would have a cow.

  We were both laughing as we stumbled into the house.

  “I wish we could see his face when he sees his car!” I laughed.

  Okay, so maybe bashing in his headlight and breaking his window wasn’t the most mature thing in the world. I didn’t care. It sure felt good.

  “That’ll ruin his high,” Eric scoffed.

  “He is totally high all the time,” I agreed.

  I moved to shut the door and lock it behind us when I noticed all the muddy footprints we were getting all over the floor.

  “We can’t go through the house like this! Mom will kill me.”

  I grabbed an old towel off a stack of rags and started wiping up the mess. Then I tossed another towel to Eric and used one to wipe off my muddy feet. “Clean up,” I instructed.

  “This towel is just not big enough to clean up my entire body,” he joked.

  I frowned as my towel dangled from my fingertips. Water was dripping down my leg and my shirt was plastered to my body. He was right.

  I glanced at the washing machine and knew what I had to do. I lifted the top and tossed the dirty towel in I used to clean up the floors. “Throw your clothes in there. I’ll wash them.”

  After the towel, I tossed his jacket in.

  “What about yours?” he asked.

  “I’ll wash mine too.” I reached for the bottom of my shirt, then froze. He was staring at me. The way his eyes looked made me feel flushed. “Turn around!” I demanded.

  He spun instantly and I stood there to make sure he wasn’t going to peek back around.

  Quickly I pulled off my skirt and belt and threw it all in the machine. My panties were soaked but I left them on, well, because.

  I glanced up at the thought and my breath caught. He’d taken off his shirt and by the way his arms were moving I could tell he was unbuckling his pants.

  He had a nice back. It was broad and smooth. His curls were soaked and his hair plastered to the back of his neck.

  I tore my eyes away and focused on my top and bra. Once they were both in with the rest, I grabbed a towel out of the small linen closet and wrapped it around my body. On impulse, I pulled the scrunchie out of my ruined hair and tossed it in too. I ran my fingers through my ends to get the worst of the tangles out, and when I was done it hung in damp strands down my back.

  “Done?” Eric asked.

  “Uh, yeah,” I said.

  He turned around. His eyes swept over my towel covered body and my fingers tightened on the top as I held it in place. All he was wearing was boxers. I mean, it covered just as much as a bathing suit, but still…

  It was so intimate.

  I couldn’t help but stare at him. He was so… pleasing to the eye.

  I don’t know how long I stared at him, feeling the spark of desire low in my belly before he spoke up.

  “Should I turn this on?” he asked, stepping toward the washing machine.

  I jumped, almost like I’d been caught, and busied myself with the laundry. Once the machine was filling with water and our shoes were by the door, I stared at him again.

  The whole time I moved around I’d felt his eyes. Just the heat of his gaze was enough to keep me from getting cold.

  “How late do you think our parents will be?” he asked, and his eyes swept down my towel covered body.

  I shivered.

  “I’m not sure. Could be a while.”

  “We should probably go change then, just in case they come back early,” he replied, his voice low.

  His hair was wild and no longer wet, but damp. He must have rubbed the towel over it while I was changing. He wasn’t wearing his glasses either, something I’d barely noticed until just this second. His bare shoulders and arms had been too much of a distraction.

  I nodded, but made no attempt to leave the small room. “Where are your glasses?”

  He held up his hand where they were enclosed in his fingers. “They were wet, so I took them off to dry, didn’t bother putting them back on.”

  “Can you see?” I asked.

  He smiled. “All the important stuff.”

  Was it just me or did his voice get a little husky with those words?

  “You look different without them,” I said.

  “Good different or bad different?”

  “I like the way you look both ways.” I glanced away shyly. He made me feel vulnerable, but in a good way. I was used to vulnerability as feeling like a weakness.

  But this.

  This vulnerability was different. It was sort of like opening myself up, allowing him to see past the walls I put up as a boundary. I felt exposed with Eric, and not because I was standing here in a towel.

  I wasn’t on guard with him constantly.

  I realized I trusted him.

  “Wanna hold my hand?” he asked, reaching out.

  “What?”

  He chuckled. “To walk upstairs. It’s dark in here. Unless you plan on turning on the lights as we go.”

  I’d rather hold his hand.

  We walked together up the stairs, hand in hand, with my other clutching the towel around me. There was a small light on in the kitchen, but the further up the stairs we got the less light it provided.

  It was still raining cats and dogs outside, and thunder still shook the sky occasionally. “I had no idea it was supposed to storm tonight,” I murmured, listening to it beat against the windows.

  “Good night to watch a scary movie,” he mused.

  “You like scary movies?” I asked, remembering what he said before.

  “Love em. Do you?”

  “They’re okay,” I said. Since I was
afraid of the dark, scary movies weren’t really my thing.

  He chuckled like he knew I’d been lying.

  As we passed by the bathroom, lightning flashed through the sky in a sudden bolt. The bathroom lit up like a firework because of the skylight in the ceiling and then a loud boom of thunder ripped through the night.

  I shrieked and leapt forward against him. His arms closed around me instantly and my cheek hit his bare chest. Without thought, my arms went around him.

  His skin was warm and inviting. I’d never felt so invited to be this close to anyone. It was almost like he’d been waiting for me to jump at him, almost as if he wished for it.

  The second I moved he was there, scooping me close and holding me tight.

  The towel wrapped around my body fell loose when I put my arms around him. I didn’t realize it until I shifted closer and my nipples hardened.

  A lot of my skin was touching his and my body was reacting. It was rare for me to react so strongly to a guy. I’d been out with more than a few… but only one other one before Eric had made me feel desire.

  And it wasn’t like this.

  The towel was still enough to keep us from being totally skin to skin, still between my breasts and him, but all it would take was one step. One movement and it would fall to the floor.

  “You okay?” he asked, his voice next to my ear. My eyes closed at the sound of his voice. It, coupled with his arms around me, was overwhelming. Behind the towel my nipples tingled and I was starting to think all the dampness in my panties was not from the rain.

  “Kel?” he asked when I didn’t answer. He pulled back just enough so he could look down at my face.

  The towel slid a little more.

  I sucked in a breath as one nipple grazed his chest.

  Quickly, I looked up, wondering if he noticed, if he felt it too.

  His stare was heavy lidded, his eyes almost closed. His mouth was pulled into almost a grimace.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, totally thinking that he was turned off. “I didn’t mean to jump at you like that and the towel… I’m sorry.” As I rushed out the words I pulled back and grasped for the fabric, but it fell to the floor at my feet.

  I crammed both my arms over my chest for some attempt at modesty, which was really pretty pathetic. I hurried to bend down to fetch the towel but his hand on my shoulder stopped me.

  “I liked it.”