by Leigh Hutton
Hey girl, loved the dancing lol. Hope to c it again. Dallas Cash
She supposed, now, she needed to reply. She re-wrote her message three times before settling for her original version:
Hi Dallas, thanks ;) soooo embarrassing. Thank u for the message and getting me to Sera’s, I owe you one … Clover
After sending the message, Clover stared at the screen, as if, by some amazing stroke of luck, a response would appear in five seconds flat, preferably reading: Clover, you’re the sexiest girl alive! Please be my girlfriend.
It didn’t.
The second Clover’s eyes opened the next morning, she checked her phone. No reply from Dallas. Ten minutes passed and Clover almost convinced herself she should re-send the message, just to make sure he’d gotten it. Uncool, she realised, so instead, she forced herself out of bed, hid her phone under her pillow and went in search of clean clothes. Time to get out of the house.
Clover made her way across the yard towards the detached garage, hay shed and the horse paddock.
She pulled her sleeve over her hand, to protect her skin from sticking to the freezing metal door handle on the garage, but then she realised there was no need to go in. It was Sunday, her usual racing day. But not anymore. And as she stood, feeling the frozen door handle through the sleeve of her hoodie, the reality that she wouldn’t be racing for at least four months hit her. The only way to keep riding was if you had special ice tyres.
Leslie had vetoed that, due to the cost.
Clover wondered if she even felt like riding. She sensed her beloved bike, her WR250F, waiting eagerly behind the door, and a pang of guilt for neglecting it squeezed her heart. Then she remembered how disappointed her father had been in her, and probably still was. Too much to bear.
Clover gritted her teeth and walked away from the garage, and her dirty bike.
She needed to hit another party. And see Dallas Cash again.
SIX
By third period Monday morning, Clover was hunched over a desk at the back of Math 20-3, scribbling hearts on the cover of her unopened textbook, tempted to test how Clover Cash would look. Instead, she focused on the image of Dallas’s face. He still hadn’t replied to her text.
I should really re-send the message, Clover thought . Just to make sure he got it. She reached into her pocket and slipped out her phone, keeping it hidden beneath the desk, and re-sent the text to Dallas. After watching each tick of the clock and feeling no movement from her phone, the bell finally went, and Clover followed Sera out of the room. ‘C’mon,’ Sera said, grabbing her by the hand. ‘Sydney wants to meet us in the canteen.’
The girls settled at a table and Clover realised she hadn’t worried about seeing Dee at all. She smiled as she looked across at her friends, and in that moment, a layer of her shell peeled away. Maybe she could be confident here. Comfortable. Maybe she could be good enough for Dallas Cash. Clover had never had a boyfriend; the closest she’d come was kissing a seventeen year old senior racing guy one afternoon after a race, when she was fourteen. He’d tried to force her to the ground, and she had to kick him in the chin, and run off. Somehow, Lasha had heard about it, and told everyone that Clover had slept with the guy, and that she was a dirty little slut.
It had been just as bad at school and before meeting Sera, Clover had hidden in the girls’ locker room pretty much every lunchtime to avoid girls like Dee.
‘So, the big question is ’ Sera glanced from Sydney to Clover ‘Where are we partying this weekend?’
Clover jumped, and spilt a bit of her drink. Her phone had vibrated.
‘Pull yourself together!’ A wicked grin spread across Sera’s face as she peeked a look at Clover’s phone. ‘Oooh, this girl won’t be partying. She’s got a date!’
A jolt of shock hit Clover’s skin as she stared at the text from Dallas an invitation for Friday night.
Clover’s first date was proving to be a lot like her first race, making her crazy in the lead up with nervous excitement that got more intense and overwhelming every second of every day. She hoped this event was going to pan out differently to her first dirt bike one, however, as she’d crashed more times than she could count and nearly drowned in a flooded creek. Sydney and Sera decided to come home with her on Friday after Sydney had cut her hair, to help do her makeup and pick out clothes.
Clover stared at her reflection in the mirror of her closet door. She lifted the scooped neckline of her top, to show a little less cleavage, then spun around and turned back to the mirror, one hand on her ass. She was sure the dark, white-stitch skinny jeans, which Sera had suggested, were too tight. ‘You guys sure this looks okay?’ she asked Sera and Sydney, who were sitting cross-legged on her bed. ‘It is just a movie.’
The girls smiled back, their eyes gleaming with appreciation.
‘You look awesome.’ Sydney leapt off the bed, brushed past Clover and grabbed the black leather jacket she’d lent her. ‘Here, it’s cold, and it’ll look perfect with the boots.’
‘She won’t be cold,’ Sera said from the bed. ‘She’ll be burnin’ with desire and passion.’
‘Enough,’ Clover said. ‘I’m nervous enough already.’ Terrified more like it.
Sera hopped up from the bed. ‘Our little girl finally gets a proper date. How sweet.’
Clover looked at Sera and narrowed her eyes in warning.
‘That’s enough out of you,’ Sydney said, pushing Sera back onto the bed. ‘You deserve a bit of fun Sera said you’ve been that stressed about racing you’ve hardly cracked a smile.’
‘Until Camp Shitty, that was!’ Sera said.
‘He’s here!’ Sera yelled.
Clover stole one last look in her mirror. Then hurried to the front entry.
Dallas didn’t knock before swinging the door open. Clover was ready, standing on the mat, eyes glued to the bottom of the doorframe. Her hands clutched her handbag and jacket in a death grip. The intoxicating smell of cologne hit her at the same time as their eyes met. An arm wrapped around her waist and warm fingers touched her face.
‘Hey, girl,’ he said, gently lifting her chin. ‘You look great.’
Her face burned, but she couldn’t even register the compliment he’d just given her. All she could think was: Whoa, he certainly doesn’t waste any time getting intimate … eek!
Clover looked up to see a hunger in Dallas’s eyes that made her quiver and shrink with nerves. He was so forward, like she imagined any ‘player’ should be. But she was here now, and there was a part of her that was more excited than shit scared. She knew she should probably say something. This was getting weird. ‘Um, hi,’ she said. ‘How … are you?’
Dallas smiled a slight smile. Then he let her go.
‘Your truck’s pretty badass. Love the colour.’ Clover said the first thing that popped into her mind. Dallas raised his eyebrows, and nodded. ‘Thanks. Should we go?’
The date really couldn’t get any better than this. How could Clover possibly feel guilty for neglecting her bike when this was what she had to show for it? She couldn’t really even ride her bike, not until next spring. And here she was with a guy she’d dreamed about for years. Finally going to a movie with a total babe, and a super popular one to boot.
She allowed her eyes to glance towards him, without turning her head, as Dallas accelerated down her driveway, the deep rumbling of his diesel truck exciting her nearly as much as the boy driving it.
Yep, just as mesmerising as the day she’d first seen him, the day her obsession with him began …
Lunchtime: her fourth day at her new school. She heard some kids talking about the town’s hockey team, which practiced on the rink beside the school. Clover had loved playing hockey when their pond in Canada iced over in winter, but had never seen a proper game, so she went along. The guys on the team had pulled Dallas, who was already turning heads on a Denver team, onto the ice. He was a year older than everyone in her grade, and Clover would later discover that he’d had to repeat Grade Two, a
fter taking longer than normal to learn how to read. The fact his mom had left them for a real estate agent from Los Angeles the year before might have contributed to this, but nobody, especially Dallas himself, was letting on.
She sat by herself in the far corner, away from all the other girls, with her face hidden within her hood, doing her best not to be noticed. Clover instantly felt there was something special about the way the boy moved. It wasn’t just that he was about a foot taller and bigger than any of the other guys on the ice. He was at one with his skates and his stick seemed drawn to the puck as if magnetised. It was obvious, as he strode across the rink hard pieces of ice flicking off his deadly blades that he was good. Really good. Clover had never been able to draw a comparison between her sport and hockey, until that day. But she could see a similarity between Dallas’s effortless mastery of the ice and the way her idol, the Australian and current world champion, Ryder Black, piloted his big YZ450F through the trees, with consummate skill.
When Dallas recognised the attention he was getting from every girl in the bleachers, he looked up, and she could have sworn that his eyes hadn’t met with Dee Harding, or head cheerleader ‘Barbie’s’, but with hers. Never in a million years did she think she would actually speak to him, let alone get a date. And now, here she was.
The sound of Dallas’s deep voice brought her back to the present, ‘So, did you really live in an igloo, back in Canada?’ Dallas asked, grinning as he turned onto the highway.
‘I did.’ She smiled slightly, and shook her head. Dallas was a hockey player. He knew about Canada. ‘It was super annoying how my ass cheeks always got stuck to my bed, though. No mattresses up past the border.’
Dallas blurted with laughter. ‘My uncle says the same thing. He’s got a cattle ranch up there, near Black Diamond. My grandad lives there, too.’
‘Really? We used to live really close to there.’
‘We Cash men seem to have a thing for Canadians,’ Dallas said. He cleared his throat. ‘You must be looking forward to getting out Camp Shitty’s the first party I’d seen you at.’
‘Yeah … ’ Clover shrunk with embarrassment. ‘I’ve been busy.’
‘Not a bad thing, I guess. Bet your racing keeps you busy?’
‘Probably not as busy as your hockey.’
‘I say it’s time for the both of us to have some fun, then.’
Dallas un-clicked her seatbelt and pulled her into the middle seat, tucked her under his arm. She couldn’t look away from his face, his eyes. She fit so well under his arm. ‘You really are cool, you know that, Kassedy? I’ve never gone out with a girl like you,’ he said, squeezing her against his chest. ‘I usually only look forward to one thing man, I can’t believe I’m saying this to you!’
Clover tensed in her seat, as butterflies rushed around in her stomach and shot down her thighs. His honesty was dangerously charming. She wondered if he knew what she was feeling.
Dallas smiled at her reaction. ‘But now I can’t believe that I’m about to say this now, I know we’ll actually have some fun before we get to that. That is, if you want to?’
SEVEN
Clover and Dallas walked hand-in-hand out of theatre number four of Denver’s Star Cinema. Both their faces were pale and Clover was numb and cold. No action movies had been playing, so Clover had suggested the latest horror flick. Seemed the cool thing to do.
‘I’m sorry you were freaked out,’ Dallas said.
‘It was my own stupid fault,’ Clover said. ‘At least I could cover my eyes when it got really bad.’
‘Did you see any of it?’
‘Don’t tell anyone, okay? I’m supposed to be a fearless biker.’
Dallas laughed. ‘Our little secret. But I gotta admit, for a dirt bike racer, you’re not very tough.’
‘I am when you give me a bike and a track.’
‘I don’t know any other girl who wouldn’t find tearing around on a dirt bike scarier than some movie.’
‘I’m not most girls.’
‘You certainly aren’t.’
Dallas followed her onto the escalator, leading down to the foyer of the cinema, which was packed. There were lines four and five deep for each ticket kiosk and the food stands. The games arcade was flooded, a carnival of sound spilling out into the cavernous foyer.
Dallas’s arms fell around her neck, his hands resting against her bra. She could feel his heart beat, making her warm, hot now.
‘I would have liked to take you to my place,’ Dallas said. ‘I bet Dad would say that you’re the right kind of girl for me to bring home.’
He must have felt her surprise, and his face flushed, just a fraction. Is this Dallas Cash embarrassed? She’d never seen anything so adorable.
Dallas was quick to recover, like a pro at hiding his true feelings, and intentions. ‘Yeah, Dad brought home Thor the other day, he loves that freakin’ movie so much, it’s hilarious.’
Clover was very aware of his hands. So close to her nipples.
‘That woulda been cool,’ she said. ‘I love that movie. Chris Hemsworth’s a … a really good actor.’
Dallas’s body moved back from hers, just a fraction. ‘What, you got a thing for Aussies, Miss Kassedy?’
‘Um, well.’ Be yourself, remember. ‘Their accent’s pretty cool.’
‘Oh.’ His tone was even frostier than disappointed.
She spun around and looked at him from beneath her dark eyelashes. ‘But it’s not as cool as yours, though Col-lo-RAD-ian.’ She slid her hands up his chest. ‘And nothing beats a good set of pecs.’ She smiled cheekily, and, realising the escalator was about to disappear into the floor, jumped down to avoid tripping over the last step. She landed, sure-footed, on the metal platform at the bottom.
Dallas grabbed her hands and as soon as they were away from the crowds, pulled her around a corner, and lifted her arms up around his neck. ‘Where were we?’ he said, running his eyes down her body.
Clover’s head was as light as a balloon, she was so happy. The stubble of his cheek was so near to her lips.
Dallas slipped his hands up the back of her leather jacket and pulled her against his chest.
Their lips met, lightly at first, an exploration.
He tightened his grip on her lower back, and then kissed her again.
Her fingers crept up the back of his neck, grabbing at his hair involuntarily.
He pulled away to kiss her cheek, and ran a finger gently down her earlobe, then whispered, ‘You’re in big trouble, Miss Kassedy.’
She willed her heart to stop racing, her pulse to slow enough to choke out some form of cool retort, instead settling for a broad, soporific smile. She had never imagined that kissing a guy could feel like that .
He lowered his head and turned as if to kiss her neck. ‘Wouldn’t you like to know why you’re in trouble?’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘You’re in trouble, girl, because I know that you think you want to be good.’ He kissed her on the nape of her neck. Her body responded in spite of herself, and he took this as an answer in itself. ‘But I know for a fact that you want to be bad.’
‘We’ll just see about that.’ Clover grinned as she swiped his car keys from his pocket and flipped out of his arms. ‘I’ll drive, thanks!’
★
Clover and Dallas were kissing feverishly as they fell through the wide front door of the Kassedy’s house, oblivious to the blast of freezing night air accompanying them as they crashed into the wall opposite the front door.
Dallas’s fingers found their way up under Clover’s jacket and shirt and traced a few rings around her belly button, before heading beneath the buckle of her belt, and pausing just above the top line of her thong. His cool fingers were soothing against her burning skin, but the chill was enough to get her attention. She summoned the last few drops of moral decency to dislodge Dallas’s hands and push him hard against the swinging door. It shut with a loud bang.
‘Hey,’ she said. ‘We really
need to talk.’ She’d managed to get through two dates, including dinner after watching one of his home games, but had only just escaped with her pants on.
Dallas stopped her words with the palm of his hand, and then slipped it back under her jacket, onto her belly.
‘Ah, ah, ahhh no you don’t!’ Clover grabbed him by the hands.
He let her pin him against the door.
‘There’s something I’ve gotta say.’
‘So say it.’
Her stomach tensed as Dallas pulled one of his hands free, and burrowed it up under her jacket, and bra. Clover yanked his hand out and pinned it beside his head, jumping back, with her palms facing out in self-defence. Dallas crossed his arms and rested back, wearing an ‘I-know-I’m-gonna-get-my-way’ look that drove Clover to distraction. ‘Okay, Miss Kassedy,’ he said. ‘You have the floor.’
She squared her shoulders. ‘Okay, well … ’ She hadn’t had time to consider exactly what form this totally awkward talk should actually take. She only knew how much she liked this perfect guy and that she needed to draw the lines, as much for herself as for him, like, right away. She was pleased to be seeing a boy behind her parents’ backs that was exciting, but sleeping with one … it was all happening too fast for her to keep up. She wasn’t ready to go all the way.
‘Is there something you need to say, or can we … ’ the look on his face reminded Clover of a hungry kid staring at the last chocolate in the box. She shoved her hands into her jean pockets and looked down at the floor. ‘I, I’m not going to sleep with you.’ Then her words started tumbling from her mouth and she knew she was babbling, but didn’t know how to stop. ‘I mean, I like you, obviously, a lot. But I don’t want to go there, I mean, I’m not ready to go there, not right now. I had a bad experience with this guy from racing. The truth is, he really scared me.’
‘Who?’ Dallas’s fists clenched. His aggression scared her, and she took a step back.
‘Just, a guy it was a long time ago, now, and he quit racing and moved away, so, it doesn’t even matter.’