by MS Weinman
Tony said “Pardon me” as he reached down between Clarissa’s feet to seize an auxiliary cable. She held her breath as his chest pressed lightly on her thigh. As he sat back, he plugged his phone into the cable.
Clarissa eyed Tony’s arm, noticing the deep recess at his elbow crease, where the muscles of his upper and lower arm attached. She regarded her own strong arms for a second. Girls don’t have that. God, that is sexy.
Suddenly, there was a tapping on Clarissa’s window. She pushed the button and rolled it down. Michelle bent over, resting both forearms on the car door. “We’re ready. You coming?”
Tony replied quickly, “I’ll take her home.” Then he looked at Clarissa. “If that’s OK with you?”
“It’s OK. Tony will take me home,” Clarissa said. She moved the rose on her lap ever so slightly to try to bring it to her friend’s attention. Michelle glanced down at the flower, and then she looked directly into Clarissa’s eyes. “I’ll call you first thing in the morning.”
Michelle stood up, and Clarissa rolled the window back up.
“Are you ready to go?” Tony asked.
“I guess so,” Clarissa said, not at all ready for the evening to end.
They drove in silence for a while. Clarissa admired Tony’s profile in the flashes of the oncoming headlights.
“Do you know where you are going to school next year?” Clarissa asked.
“Oh, I’m just going to city college. My grades aren’t that great. What about you? Do you have any idea where you might go?”
Not wanting to appear too smart or too ambitious, Clarissa lied. “No, not really.”
Tony glanced over at Clarissa and smiled then turned his eyes back toward the road.
Standing at her front door, Clarissa clutched her red rose tightly in her left hand. Tony said, “I had a great time tonight.”
“Me too.”
Clarissa fished through her purse for her keys. Placing his index finger under her chin, Tony raised it gently upward. He touched his lips to hers. Then he pulled away. Clarissa’s lips wanted to follow his, like their separation was a mistake that must be corrected. She momentarily got lost in his velvety brown eyes. Trying to break the trance, she looked back down into her purse and retrieved her keys.
“Can I call you tomorrow?” Tony asked.
“Sure.” Clarissa twisted the ring of her key chain.
Tony walked backward toward his car as Clarissa opened the door and walked into the house.
Chapter 4
The sound of her phone ringing woke Clarissa out of a deep sleep. After a brief incoherent moment, she snatched the phone, thinking … hoping it might be Tony. Pushing her hair out of her face, she put the receiver up to her ear.
“Hello,” she said, feeling like she had several cotton balls stuffed in her mouth.
“Well, what happened?” Michelle asked.
“Oh, hi, Michelle.” Clarissa sank back into her pillows and shut her eyes.
“Expecting someone else?”
“Maybe,” Clarissa replied. Opening one eye, Clarissa lifted the curtain away from the window above her bed and looked outside. Overcast. Marine layer.
“Come on, girl! What happened?” Michelle shouted.
“When?” Both eyes opened. The corners of Clarissa’s mouth turned up into an impish grin.
“OK. I’m going to hang up on you. Goodbye.”
Laughing, Clarissa said, “All right. Don’t hang up.”
“I saw your flower. What happened?”
Clarissa sat up in bed and kicked off her blue-and-white striped sheets. “He gave me the rose when we went out to his car and told me he was glad I came to the game.”
“And?”
Reaching for her toes with her left hand, draping her curls across her knees, she folded herself in two. “And he drove me home and asked for my number and kissed me. I swear, Michelle, he is the best kisser ever. Oh, and he asked me to the prom.”
“What!?!”
Clarissa sat up and repeated very slowly, “He. Asked. Me. To. The. Prom.” There was silence on the other end of the phone line. “Hello? Michelle?”
“I’m here. Wow. That is so cool. I’m excited for you and totally jealous.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“Well, I never really thought about you going to the prom. I’m jealous. I’ll get over it. So do you want to go shopping?”
Clarissa swung her legs off the side of the bed, her feet searching for her white, terry-cloth slippers. “Tony is supposed to call. What if he wants to do something?”
“I’m sorry, dear, but you are not going to sit around all day like a complete loser, waiting for some guy to call.”
“I’m not?”
“Um … no.”
“OK, shopping. Pick me up in an hour.”
Clarissa showered, got dressed, went into the kitchen, and put two pieces of wheat bread into the stainless steel toaster. Then, she paused to smell the rose she had put into a crystal vase last night.
“Who gave you the rose?” her mom asked as she walked into the kitchen.
Recovering the toast that popped out of the toaster onto the counter, Clarissa put it on a plate and began to spread some butter. “A guy named Tony.” She took a bite.
Clarissa’s mom poured herself a cup of coffee. Fetching milk out of the refrigerator, she splashed some into her cup until the black coffee turned a muddy brown. “Do I know this Tony?”
With a mouthful of toast, Clarissa offered a garbled “I don’t know, Mom. He’s on the baseball team.”
Sitting down at the kitchen table, Clarissa’s mom asked, “So am I going to get to know this Tony?”
The sound of the doorbell brought a wave of relief over Clarissa. Thank you, Michelle.
“Do you want some coffee or orange juice, Michelle?” Clarissa’s mom started to get up.
“Stay there, Momma T. I’ll get it.” Michelle retrieved a glass from the cupboard. As she opened the refrigerator to grab some orange juice, she said, “So, Momma T., what do you think of Clarissa going to the prom with Tony Brooks?”
Both Clarissa and her mother stared at Michelle.
“What did I say?”
“I didn’t tell her yet.”
A sheepish grin washed across Michelle’s face. “Oh, sorry.” She sat down next to Clarissa’s mom. Her juice glass clinked against the glass-topped kitchen table. “So now that you know, what do you think?”
Running her index finger around the rim of her coffee cup, Clarissa’s mom asked Michelle, “What do we know about this Tony? Would I approve?”
Clarissa rolled her eyes. “Oh, please, Mother.”
Michelle stifled a giggle and turned her back on Clarissa. “Well, Momma T., Tony is on the baseball team with Rick. I like him, what I know about him. He seems like a good guy.” Clarissa pulled out the wrought-iron chair to sit down at the kitchen table between her mom and Michelle. “He has good taste in women.”
Acting as if she were going to exit the table and the conversation, Clarissa started to get up, letting out a soft “Oh, jeez.” But both Michelle and her mother pulled her back down into her seat, like she knew they would.
Clarissa and Michelle put down their Macy’s bags and settled at the food-court table. Reaching into one of the large shopping bags, Clarissa pulled out a lime-green leather purse. She gutted the new purse of its crumpled paper contents. Then, using her teeth, she ripped the tag off.
Michelle glared at her. “You’ll ruin your teeth.”
Throwing the tag back in the shopping bag, Clarissa replied, “Thanks, Mom.” Lipsticks, wallet, tampons, gum—all the contents of the old purse began a migration to the new purse. As her cell phone began the journey,” Clarissa noticed “missed call.”
“I didn’t hear my phone ring. Did you hear my phone rin
g? What if it was Tony? How could I have missed this?”
With the straw of her fruit smoothie gripped between her teeth, Michelle replied, “Maybe you were having too much fun with me.”
Clarissa pressed the receiver to her ear.
“Hey, Clarissa, it’s Tony. Where are you? I was hoping to see you today or tonight. Give me a call when you get this message. Bye.”
Clarissa nestled her phone into her chest.
Michelle smiled. “I take it by the way that you are embracing your phone that the message was from Tony.”
Nodding, Clarissa extracted her phone from her chest and caressed the screen with her thumb. “You know, it is all your fault I missed his call. You were the one who insisted we go shopping.”
“Jeez, Clarissa. It is actually very attractive to guys that you have a life. Just call him back.”
Clarissa hated calling a guy. What should I say? She started to chew bits of skin from around her fingernails. OK, I’ll just call.
One ring, two rings … Maybe he isn’t there … Three rings …
“Hello?”
“Tony?”
“Yeah. Clarissa?”
“Yeah.” An almost-audible exhale escaped Clarissa’s lips. At least he didn’t guess some other girl.
“Finally. Where have you been all day?”
“Shopping with Michelle. How about you?”
“Oh, I’m washing and waxing my car. What are you doing tonight?”
Clarissa began rubbing her hand on her thigh. “Nothing yet.”
“I was hoping we could do something. But when you didn’t answer your phone, I made plans to go to the movies with my friends.”
Make a mental note to kill Michelle.
Tony asked, “Would you be willing to come if it is three guys instead of one?”
OK, Michelle can live. “Sure, why not?”
“Oh, good. I was afraid I wasn’t going to see you.”
A large grin crept across Clarissa’s face. He was afraid he wasn’t going to see me. “Who are my other dates?”
“My friends Rob and Adam. I’m not sure if you know them.”
“I’m sure I’ve seen them at school.”
“I’ll call them and tell them we’ll meet them at the theater. Can I pick you up at eight?”
“Sure.” With her left hand, Clarissa clutched Michelle’s arm. She noiselessly, but distinctly, formed the words “I have a date.”
“OK, I’ll be there with a clean car just for you.”
Adam and Rob were waiting in front of the theater when Clarissa and Tony arrived. After some fist-bumping and dude calling, Tony introduced them to Clarissa. She shook hands with Rob first. He was a tall striking African-American with steel-blue eyes. I definitely haven’t seen him at school. I would have remembered.
“Rob goes to OC Independent Study,” Tony interjected.
That explains it. When she stuck her hand out to shake with Adam, he grabbed her into an enthusiastic embrace.
“You’re right, bro. She is gorgeous,” Adam said as he released her. His oversize brown eyes twinkled above a large protruding nose.
Tony put his arm around Clarissa’s shoulder. “Down, boy.”
“OK. But if you get sick of him, Clarissa, just let me know.”
Tony placed a hand on each one of his friends’ shoulders and turned them toward the ticket window.
“Have you had enough?” Tony whispered close to her ear.
“Yeah,” she whispered back.
He placed the gigantic tub of popcorn on the floor. As he settled back in his seat, he brought his arm across Clarissa’s, which rested on the maroon velour armrest. Palm to palm, he locked his fingers in hers. Not wanting to expose an expression of sheer delight, Clarissa stared straight ahead at the screen.
Her long, thin fingers felt stretched by the width of his. She diverted her eyes down toward their arms, trying not to move her head. Occasionally lit by the movie, she could see his powerful forearm. She felt Tony glance at her, and she turned to look into his eyes. He gently squeezed her hand. Unsure of what to do next, Clarissa returned her gaze to the movie.
Slipping his thumb out from under hers, Tony began stroking the back of her thumb and hand. After a few moments, he shifted his grip slightly and began caressing her palm. He ran his thumb between each of her fingers. As he traced the lines in her palm, she felt the arousal growing deep inside. She thought she might moan out loud as his thumb slid down her lifeline to fondle her wrist. She was certain he would feel her rapid pulse. It was as if he was caressing her entire body, taking his time and allowing her passion to build.
Tony didn’t stop until the final credits started to roll. Clutching her hand softly, he smiled then unlocked their fingers.
Outside, the air was cool, damp, and heavy with fog. Faint halos surrounded the streetlights. Clarissa wrapped her arms around her waist. The fondling by Tony’s hand had produced a tremendous heat throughout the inside of her body. The contrast with the evening was chilling.
“You guys want to come back to my house and play some pool?” Adam asked. “My parents are out of town.”
“When are your parents ever in town?” Rob stated more than asked.
“I think we’ll take off. Maybe next time,” Tony said.
“OK. Clarissa, you are lovely and probably way too wonderful for Tony. Later, dude,” Adam said.
Rob and Adam walked away toward their car, and Tony slipped his arm around Clarissa. The chill immediately faded from her skin as Tony’s body touched hers. Dropping her arms out of her self-embrace, she wrapped an arm around Tony’s back and laced her thumb through his belt buckle.
“Can I buy you some dessert?” Tony asked.
“Sure.”
“How about a fried ice cream? Poncho’s is right around the corner.”
“All right,” Clarissa said, and they began walking, still clinging to each other.
Tony pulled open the heavy, carved wooden door of Poncho’s, and Clarissa stepped through. He followed closely, with his hand touching the small of her back.
They stood before a hostess whose straight blond hair hung down over her face as she scanned the reservation list. “Two for din—” she began as she looked up. “Tony!”
“Hey, Cathy,” Tony replied as he removed his hand from Clarissa’s back to hug the hostess’s tall, thin frame.
Dread welled up in Clarissa. She immediately decided that this was the girl Tony really wanted to be with and she could never compete. He probably just brought me here to make the blonde jealous. That’s why he suggested this place. He knew she would be working.
The blonde asked, “How’s your brother?”
“Oh, he’s doing great,” Tony replied.
“Well, tell him I say hello and I hope he comes back this way someday.”
Brother. The tension in Clarissa’s muscles subsided slightly.
“He’ll be here for a while this summer.”
“Make sure he calls me.”
“Cathy, this is Clarissa,” Tony said as he returned his hand to Clarissa’s back.
“Hi, Clarissa. It’s nice to meet you.”
Clarissa replied, “You too.” Sort of.
“Are you two here for dinner?”
Tony answered, “Just dessert.”
Cathy disappeared around the corner. “OK, I’ve got a great little table with an ocean view.” Clarissa and Tony followed her down two stairs into a large room with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the ocean. She led them to a small round table with an unobstructed view of the darkened sea. The table was covered with different patterns of broken blue-and-white Spanish tile. Burning in the center of the table was a wide white candle in a glass holder. Tony pulled out a chair for Clarissa. Beautiful blond Cathy pulled out a chair for Tony.
“
Now don’t forget to tell your brother I say hello,” Cathy said.
As Cathy walked away, Tony half whispered, kind of to Clarissa, kind of to himself, “Man, I can’t believe she is still chasing him.” He seemed somewhat annoyed, which gave Clarissa a great sense of relief.
“Where does your brother live?”
“Oh, he’s living in New York with my dad. He moved out there when my parents got divorced. Now he is going to NYU.”
“And Cathy was his girlfriend?”
“Yeah. But he moved three years ago. They weren’t even together that long. She needs to get over it.”
Clarissa put her arms on the table and looked out at the ocean. The light reflecting on the fog formed a ring around the three-quarter moon. The white foam on the waves was illuminated by the moonlight.
“It sure is pretty,” Clarissa said as she gazed out the window.
Tony took both her hands. He peered into her green eyes, which flashed with dancing candlelight. “Sure is.”
They sauntered up the path to the front door, hand in hand. “Thanks for the movie … and fried ice cream,” Clarissa said as she turned to face Tony.
“Thanks for being such a good sport and coming out with the guys.”
With their hands still entwined, Tony reached his free hand up to the back of Clarissa’s neck. He laced his fingers through her hair and pulled her close. When their lips touched, she felt a jolt, like an electric shock, run from their mouths through the rest of her body and out her hand into his. Wrapping her free hand around his waist, she mashed her body against his. To Clarissa, the kisses felt urgent, needy, each kiss building on the passion of the last. Their lips parted slightly, allowing their tongues to engage in a playful, teasing dance. Clarissa felt a tightness in her groin and the urge to push closer into Tony.
Suddenly, he released his grip from her neck and placed his hand on her arm. With bodies still touching, faces still close, he kissed her tenderly on the cheek.
“You’d better go in. I don’t want your parents mad at me right away.”