by Claire Adams
We talked about our classes, and Georgia told Johnny about some of the clubs she was interested in checking out; I talked about getting to class late, glancing at Johnny with a little grin. Johnny teased me about my mosquito bites and said that I might as well just walk around in a bikini since it was still warm enough, so that he could dab me with calamine lotion whenever I needed it. “Oh god,” I said, laughing. “Then I’d be that weird spotted freshman girl. No thanks.”
I started to relax, but even as we ate, I could still remember my mom’s insistence that I ask Johnny to come down and visit for dinner. I glanced at Georgia and she gave me a little, tiny nod. “Hey, so, Johnny,” I said anxiously, putting my plate aside; I hoped that I would still have room for dessert afterward. “So I talked to my mom earlier—she called me while I was in class and I couldn’t put it off forever.” I explained about the phone call a little bit, how I mentioned I was kind of seeing someone and wanted to not come home so I could—hopefully—see Johnny again.
“Well yeah, I’d hope you’d rather spend the weekend hanging out with me than with your parents,” he said with a laugh. I took a deep breath and decided to go all in.
“So, Mom said that I should invite you to come for dinner with us. It’s no big deal—it’s not like a serious thing—but I guess she was trying to keep me from having an excuse not to go home.” My heart was pounding in my chest. Johnny grinned.
“Of course I’ll go to dinner. I’d love to!” I couldn’t believe my luck; Johnny had to be the sweetest guy I had ever met in my entire life.
“It’s not—like—something where I’m trying to like…” I stumbled over my words. “I didn’t even say you were my boyfriend or anything just that we’d had a couple of dates.” Johnny laughed again and reached across the table, ruffling my hair.
“Well, when you tell them that I’ll be coming to dinner you can tell them that I am your boyfriend.” I grinned, and then remembered; these were my parents. It was going to be at the country club.
“It is going to be at their stupid country club,” I pointed out. “The food’s not bad, but the place is pretty lame, and it’s going to be all stuffy and everyone dressed up and stuff. You really don’t have to come if you don’t want to.” Johnny rolled his eyes.
“I’ve never been to a country club before; it could be a lot more fun than you think. Don’t worry about it, Becky. It’ll be fine.” He stood and reminded me about the desserts, and I felt relieved in spite of the fact that there was no way I could get out of the weekend visit home anymore. He pulled me close while we were both walking back towards the serving area and wrapped his arms around me, leaning in to kiss me in front of everyone.
I was absolutely thrilled at the fact that I would get to introduce Johnny to my parents, that everyone in the dining hall knew that Johnny and I were together—really together. While we were grabbing little bits and samples of the different desserts, Johnny asked me if I was going to the game that night and my bubble of relief popped.
“Oh—yeah, of course I am. Can’t wait!” I hadn’t even known there was a game going on.
“I’ll make sure you’ve got tickets waiting for you at the box office. Can’t have you up in the stands where I can’t even see you!” Johnny tousled my hair again as we made our way back to the table, and I thought wryly to myself that I would definitely need to become a much better hockey fan if I really expected the relationship to last.
Chapter Eight
Georgia and I once more got to the hockey stadium and went straight to the box office for our tickets. “At least if I have to become a hockey fan for the sake of my relationship, I don’t have to worry about being interested in something I can barely see,” I joked.
“We’ll get you up to speed, don’t worry,” Georgia said. “I’m sure we can find everything we need to find online, and in no time at all you’ll be telling me all about Johnny’s stats and how he’s improving or who the other team is and why I should care.” We both laughed as we took our seats, starting to react to the atmosphere of excitement all around us. Georgia grabbed us some snacks from the concession stand and we settled in to watch the game.
Once more I had next to no idea whatsoever about what was going on in front of me. I could spot Johnny, and as the two teams took the ice, warming up and getting into the groove of the game, I felt a tingle of excitement. That was the man I loved. I cheered for him and he looked around, spotting me from the center of the ice, grinning as he looked up at me through his visor.
Even though I didn’t know what was going on in front of me, I could tell that the game was tougher than the first one I had watched. Johnny was still playing well, but every time he looked up to catch sight of me he got distracted. Georgia laughed and told me that if our school lost its edge in the coming weeks, it would be all my fault; Johnny was the star player, and he was clearly the highest-scoring member of the team.
We got into it, cheering when everyone else around us cheered, and Georgia decided that we both needed to know exactly what was going on—me in particular. She had her phone out and as the announcer made comments, she looked up every term we heard, reading out the definitions to me as quietly as she could so that no one else in the stand would know that we were clueless, giggling at some of the sillier terms and what they meant. I finally got to know what Johnny’s position—Left Wing—really entailed, and what the other positions on the ice were, and stored the facts away as best as I could to be able to make some kind of conversation with Johnny when we were together.
We barely had the convenience of reading the information off of Georgia’s phone—the game was exciting, especially since Johnny was so distracted by my presence. I felt a little guilty, but I couldn’t help but feel my heart leaping every time that he glanced up to give me a little grin.
It was obvious to me as we watched the game that all the girls in the crowd on our team’s side of the stadium were into Johnny. He was the star of the team apart from the goalie; Georgia made a point of explaining why the goalie was always one of the most important and valued players on the team. But the goalie for our team was not nearly as hot as Johnny; no one in the entire school was, and no one combined that mixture of hotness and confidence and charm that Johnny had.
During one of the breaks, I looked around the stands, just people-watching, trying to get a feel for the kinds of fans hockey attracted. I saw some guys who I was sure I’d seen at the frat house party—though whether they were members of Phi Kappa or just people at a party, I didn’t know for certain. I did see one of the guys who’d been in a toga—so I assumed that he at least was a member of the fraternity. I saw way more girls than I thought I would have seen at a game of any kind; some of them were waving banners or homemade posters, with the school colors on them. Some of them were wearing jerseys with different players’ names (most of them wearing Steel jerseys, I noted with a little bit of a creepy-crawly feeling in my stomach). I thought to myself that it might be worthwhile to get a jersey of my own—and then show up in Johnny’s room wearing nothing but that.
As I was looking around, though, I noticed the girl from the dining hall; she was sitting in the front row section a few yards away from us, cheering her head off, and I thought bitterly to myself what a hypocrite she was. She had warned me off of Johnny with a hint that he was a player and that he had somehow driven a girl to suicide—and even though I knew better, it was gross to think that the only reason she had done it was because she wanted to be with him. If he’s such a player, why are you into him? I thought in her direction.
The teams went back out onto the ice and the second half of the game started. The girl was screaming almost more than I was, calling out Johnny’s name. As he came past our section, giving me a little glance and a wink, she somehow managed to get his attention, smacking at the Plexiglas with her hands until he looked up. I watched in horror and revulsion as she lifted her shirt up—and her bra with it—and pressed her breasts against the plexi. The crowd went wild, s
creaming and cheering, and I felt my stomach turn over. I was relieved to see that Johnny didn’t look the slightest bit interested; in fact, I saw his expression transform from curiosity to disgust at the sight.
After that, Johnny finally seemed to get his head in the game and I sat down, feeling irritated and jealous. I knew I shouldn’t be—but the fact that so many girls, and especially that one, were throwing themselves at him made me feel a little insecure. Georgia rolled her eyes at me when I whined. “Dude, Johnny is hot enough that even if he wasn’t the star player every girl on campus would be after him. You gotta chill.” I grumbled.
“Yeah, but it’s disrespectful to me for other girls to do shit like that.”
“What do you care if they respect you? They don’t have Johnny—you do. He’s crazy about you! He’s been messing up plays all night because he keeps looking at you. He’s going to meet your parents. So just chill.” I nodded, realizing I was being silly; as long as Johnny was into me and only me, what did it matter what other girls did? If anyone did anything particularly gross in front of me while I was with him, I’d just have to handle it then. And if I started acting all jealous and possessive, that would drive Johnny away more surely than any pair of boobs pressed against a shield possibly could.
I cheered myself up, remembering all the little things Johnny had said about me in our texts back and forth, the way he grinned at me, and the way he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of me for more than a few minutes at a time whenever we were together. That was enough to keep the possessiveness at bay. I started to get into the game again, ignoring the other girls who flashed the players and just focusing on Johnny’s playing. The team managed to make a comeback from a few points behind, and as Johnny kept his attention on the game instead of on me, he made more and more inroads on the scoreboard. By the end of the game, we had managed to eke out a win, though the other team tried to keep us from gaining a lead. Johnny was just too good, as was our goalie.
Georgia and I waited behind at the locker rooms, and I was relieved all over again when Johnny came straight to me after he finished showering and changing, kissing me in front of everyone and holding me at his side while he answered questions from the local and school newspapers. I didn’t even glare at the girls screaming for him, but simply ignored them, happy to be at his side, happy that I was the only girl he wanted. It was more than enough for me, for now, and nothing that that nasty girl could possibly do could ever make me doubt that Johnny was interested in me. I decided that I was going to put the name Claire White out of my head forever, and never think of her again in my life.
Chapter Nine
I tried not to fidget in the passenger seat of Johnny’s car as he drove us away from campus and down towards where my parents’ country club was. I had made an excuse not to be at their place for the whole weekend, but when Johnny had been so willing to meet them and to go to dinner with them; I hadn’t had any excuse to avoid the dinner. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to spend time with my parents; it was that I was somehow certain that they would both find reasons why I shouldn’t be with Johnny, and express their disappointment in me.
Johnny wasn’t at all like the guys that my parents were constantly trying to set me up with. I had no idea even what his family was like, really. I didn’t know whether he’d grown up middle class or poor, or wealthy. I didn’t know if he was disgusted by wealthy people. What I didn’t know about him suddenly seemed much greater than what I did know about him, and I couldn’t help feeling a little panic; differently from when he had driven us into the woods, but nonetheless a kind of deep, thrumming dread that filled me up from head to toe.
I had decided to wear a nice, comfortable dress—not anything super fancy, but good enough for the club, with a gray sweater over it, and a pair of low heels. When Johnny had come to the dorms to pick me up, I was surprised by how cleaned up he was; he was wearing a suit, and it fit him just perfectly, and his hair was brushed down smooth, his face was shaved, he was every inch just what he should be. Climbing up into the truck, I thought that at least my parents couldn’t fault him for looking good, or for dressing appropriately. “I didn’t even know you owned a suit,” I’d said, kissing him lightly on the lips.
“For special occasions. I think this one I originally got for my cousin’s wedding, and fortunately it still fits. I couldn’t show up to meet your parents in a jersey, you know.”
As we got closer and closer to my hometown, closer to the club where my parents would be waiting for us, I felt my heart beating faster and faster. “So,” I said, my throat and mouth dry. “I have to confess something to you.” Johnny grinned.
“Your parents didn’t actually invite me and you’re springing me on them with no notice?” I laughed in spite of how terrified I was.
“No, actually; my mom absolutely insisted that I invite you as soon as I mentioned I was seeing a guy.” Johnny grinned again.
“And as soon as you told her I was the hottest guy you’ve ever been with?” I blushed.
“I might have told her about some of your… sterling qualities.” I cleared my throat. “But no, that’s not what I have to confess. My parents are rich.” I paused, shaking my head at how baldly that had come out.
“Well they belong to a country club; I definitely didn’t think they were on welfare or something.” I smiled nervously.
“Well yeah; obviously…” I licked my lips. “But I mean like, they’re really wealthy. If I had wanted to go to like, Yale or something, they would have done whatever it took to make that happen. They were really disappointed that I went to a small in-state college instead of an ivy league.”
“Are we talking like Bill Gates money here?” I shrugged.
“Not quite that bad, but they’re definitely aware of their status. They tried to set me up with a bunch of guys from the club in high school. Mostly it just annoys me.”
“Did you go on any super expensive dates?” Johnny grinned. “Could’ve been fun to get them to spend all that money on you and then stonewall them when you got to the end of the night.” I giggled.
“No, I just didn’t date anyone at all for my last year in high school. Hence why I was in the top 5% of my class.” I fidgeted with the skirt of my dress, smoothing it over my knees. “It just gets on my nerves sometimes, is all. And I wanted you to be ready for the fact that they can kind of be jerks about it.”
“Makes sense. I don’t think I’d like you as much as I do if you were the type to go along with the whole pompous money thing.” I smiled, relaxing a little bit.
“Well, it sort of embarrasses me, and I plan on making my own way after college. Becoming a teacher. I guess it’s the typical ‘poor little rich girl’ thing to do, but I don’t want to get a job in a big office because my dad knows someone, you know?” Johnny nodded slowly.
“I do think you should take advantage of it while you can. Make ‘em pay for everything. Take a trip to Cancun for Spring Break—or France!” I laughed.
“I’ve been to France,” I said. “I could see about getting them to pay for a trip to Amsterdam. That could be fun.” We joked about it the rest of the way, and I started to feel better about introducing Johnny to my parents. At least, I thought, my dad couldn’t have much bad to say about him; he had been in a frat in college, and I had a vague notion that he liked sports, though I’d never paid enough attention to know which ones in particular.
When we arrived at the country club, I saw the valet take one look at the truck and his eyes widened as Johnny hopped out, coming around to forestall the shocked man’s move to open my door for me. He lifted me out of the cab and carefully put me on my feet, steadying me and leaning in for a quick kiss before he turned to the valet, who was still looking at the enormous, tricked-out truck with surprise. “Just park it wherever you have room,” Johnny said graciously. He handed the valet his keys and a five, and I beamed to myself. Johnny might or might not have grown up with money like I had—but he definitely had good enough manners.<
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The truck, which had seemed gaudy and too masculine to me before was now cemented as one of my favorite things about dating Johnny. Seeing it next to the sleek BMWs, Ferraris, and Maseratis in the parking lot gave me a little thrill. It was as if I had proudly proclaimed to everyone at the club that I didn’t care what their standards were—I liked Johnny and that was that.
We went into the club, and I could see the people inside glancing at us as we made our way through the lobby to the dining area; everyone had to notice that Johnny was incredibly hot, and the fact that he was dressed for the occasion made it even better. I smiled all around, leading Johnny to where my parents had said they would meet us, at the entryway into the dining room. Mom was dressed to the nines, while Dad was in a simple sport coat and slacks, not even wearing a tie. I felt my nervousness boosting up inside of me again as we came up to them; what would they say?
“Mom, Dad, this is Johnny,” I said, keeping my voice barely under control. Mom’s eyes widened and I watched her take in how good Johnny looked, saw the approving glint in her eye. That’s right, I thought triumphantly. He’s hot, and he’s talented and smart and definitely good enough for me, no matter how much his family makes. Johnny shook hands with my dad and hugged my mom.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Johnny said, all smiles, looking as confident as he did anywhere else. “I can see where Becky gets her good taste and beauty,” he added, nodding at my mom slightly. Mom blushed—grinning at the compliment. Dad gave me a look that told me that at least for now, with nothing else to go on, he approved.
“I heard that you’re a Greek man,” Dad said, while we waited for the hostess to seat us. Johnny nodded.
“Phi Kappa Alpha, pledged my freshman year.” Dad grinned.
“If the Phi Kappa guys are anything like what they were when I was in school, I’m surprised you’ve got the time to come to dinner with us.” Johnny laughed.