Making Out

by Megan Stine

  “John and Ramone? Yeah, but . . . they . . . I mean . . . they can’t think of it as a solo date, can they?” Lisa Marie stammered, embarrassed. She hadn’t even remembered about Bradley when she was talking to John and Ramone. “I mean, they were together and we just said, yeah, we’d hang out at the prom. What’s wrong with that?”

  “Um-hm.” Graham still wasn’t buying it. “What about the luscious hunky one just now?”

  “Who, Marco?”

  Wait a minute. Luscious? Hunky? So that was it. Graham was jealous. Here he was lusting after half the guys she’d been flirting with, and then getting on her case for being too available! How hypocritical could a guy get?

  “You’re hot for him!” Lisa Marie laughed. She hadn’t realized Graham was gay.

  “Maybe,” Graham admitted, “but I’m still right. Counting your not-so-little friend Marco, you’ve made four dates for the prom.”

  Lisa Marie replayed the scene with Marco in her head. Was it really a date?

  He had come in with his hair all blown from riding the new Vespa his dad gave him for his birthday. Lisa Marie pointed out that he should have been wearing a helmet, and Marco had joked that as a congressman’s son, he had “helmet immunity.”

  “It’s like diplomatic immunity,” Marco had said. “For heads.”

  It wasn’t funny, but Marco had the kind of self-confidence that made everything he said seem cool and/or amusing.

  “Lucky you,” was the only thing Lisa Marie could think of to say. She was off her game today.

  “So I hear you’re going to meet up with John and Ramone at the prom,” Marco had said, faking jealousy, which was obviously just his way of coming on to her. Marco couldn’t really be jealous of anyone. He was so good-looking and such a player, he was never at a loss for girls.

  “We’re going to hang,” Lisa Marie had said.

  “What about me?” Marco had stuck out his mouth in a cute pout. “Don’t I get any?”

  God, he could be so brazen! But that’s what made him sexy. Boldness was his strong suit.

  “You can have your share,” Lisa Marie had said, flirting back.

  “Okay,” Marco said, pointing a finger at her. “Remember—you promised.”

  She laughed. It was just a game, right? Just talk. He didn’t think she meant anything much by it, she was pretty sure.

  Lisa Marie felt Graham watching her closely.

  “Okay, maybe I did say I’d meet four guys,” Lisa Marie admitted. “But I doubt any of them thinks it’s a real date.”

  “Um-hm.” Graham went into the back room to refill the amaretto syrup.

  As soon as he was gone, Lisa Marie took out a calculator that was under the counter. If she was going to meet four guys at the prom, she’d better look fabulous. How long was it going to take her to save up enough for that dress?

  She did the math quickly and sighed. She’d been working at Starbucks for three weeks now, and didn’t have quite half the money. And the prom was only three weeks away.

  “Excuse me,” a voice near the register said, clearing his throat for attention. “Am I wrong, or do you sell coffee here?”

  Lisa Marie looked up and saw Li’l D standing there, giving her his best I’m-hot-and-you’re-hot-so-what-are-we-waiting-for stare. His eyes were so deeply set, it was impossible not to be riveted by them.

  “Hi. What can I get you?” Lisa Marie asked brightly.

  “Make it a tall mocha,” Li’l D said, staring at her intensely with his bad-boy grin. “I’ve got a sweet tooth tonight.”

  “One tall mocha blended coffee.” Lisa Marie called it, just like she was supposed to. Only she didn’t call it out loudly, since Graham wasn’t there to hear. “It’ll just be a sec.”

  “Hey, I’m ready whenever you are,” he said in his low, sexy voice.

  Lisa Marie laughed. Li’l D was so amazing—he just radiated self-assurance without strutting around like an asshole.

  Still, a girl had to keep her defenses up.

  “I’m guessing you’re always ready,” she said.

  Li’l D tilted his head at her. “Hey, I can play by whatever rules you want to make,” he said, sounding totally sincere.

  He eyed her with such an intense look, she immediately felt tongue-tied and didn’t know what to say. She stepped behind the coffee machine and started pouring the chocolate for his mocha.

  “So what’s this music?” Li’l D nodded up at the speakers mounted in the ceiling.

  “Jazz mix. Starbucks’s own blend,” Lisa Marie answered. “The CDs are right there on the counter if you want to buy one.”

  Li’l D shook his head with a slow, disapproving smile. “They should stick to coffee.”

  True, Lisa Marie thought. But as a loyal Starbucks partner, she wasn’t allowed to say so.

  She poured hot coffee into the chocolate milk and stirred. “So is it true what everyone says—that you’re getting a contract to record a CD?”

  “It could happen,” Li’l D said with a slight shrug. Like he didn’t want to count his chickens, but there was a definite possibility. “I’ve been talking to some people. We’re working on it.”

  He’s the perfect guy, she thought. He had all the things she wanted. He wasn’t all macho and full of himself—just cool enough to get his message across with smack-down power. His music was loud/angry/in-your-face, but his personality was laid-back/sensitive/quiet. What could be better than a guy who was sexy and hot and on the edge, but at the same time seemed like he’d let someone in if it were the right person—the right girl?

  “You want extra whip?” she asked him.

  “No whip,” he said. “I forgot to say.”

  Lisa Marie heard him sort of humming while she finished making his drink. She wanted to look up, to see if he was watching her, but the espresso machine was so tall, she couldn’t see over it.

  Finally the coffee was ready. “One tall mocha blended coffee,” she called, trying to make it sound like something she’d created just for him.

  Li’l D’s eyes were laughing when he took it from her.

  “So do you have to stay back there the whole time you’re at work?” he asked.

  “Pretty much,” she said. “Except when the tables need to be wiped or the milk and sugar bar needs to be refilled.”

  “The tables look damned dirty to me,” he said, without turning around to look at them.

  Lisa Marie laughed. “I just wiped them ten minutes ago. And besides, I’m alone right now. I can’t leave the till.”

  Li’l D nodded and gave her another intense stare.

  Then he grinned. “You . . . me . . . prom night.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Definitely,” Lisa Marie answered with a cautious laugh.

  Her heart skipped a beat, excited. Was he serious? He’d definitely been flirting with her. But at the same time, she figured he was just playing around. Otherwise, why not come right out and ask her to the prom?

  Li’l D grinned and left the store. On his way out, he turned to give her a two-finger salute.

  “That’s five,” Graham said, coming up behind her from the back room.

  “Oh, God! Do you think so?” Lisa Marie asked. “I mean, I don’t think he was serious. Was he?”

  She hoped so, but she really had no idea.

  The look on Graham’s face made her think, Yeah. Maybe so.

  That would be incredible, Lisa Marie thought. Spending prom night with Li’l D was her idea of heaven. Of all the guys she’d been flirting with for the past few weeks, he was the only one who really made her heart go pitter-patter.

  “Here comes number six,” Graham said, nudging Lisa Marie and knocking her out of her daydream.

  She looked up and saw Todd walking toward the counter like he wanted something other than coffee.

  “That’s not number six,” she said under her breath to Graham. “That’s my ex.”

  “Ooooh.” Graham seemed intrigued. “Well, we’re not busy, if you want to take a
break.”

  Todd’s face was all serious . . . and did she also detect . . . apologetic?

  “Can I talk to you?” He pushed his straight black hair out of his eyes. He hardly ever cut his hair, and on some guys it would’ve looked cool. On Todd, it just looked forgetful.

  Lisa Marie stepped out from the counter and stood in the corner, her arms crossed over her chest. “What?”

  “I don’t know.” He was looking down at his feet, trying to pull it together to say whatever it was he’d come to say. “Maybe this isn’t the right time . . . I just . . .”

  “What? Just say it,” Lisa Marie snapped. It was really awkward standing there in the corner, trying to have some kind of conversation with him while Graham pretended not to eavesdrop and stare.

  She had no idea what Todd wanted, but whatever it was, she wasn’t too interested in giving it to him. Why the hell should she? He had dumped her, unceremoniously, after two long, tedious years. What the hell was that?

  “Okay.” Todd met her eyes. “I was thinking . . . I mean, I wondered if you, maybe, wanted to try getting back together.”

  “Why?” She eyed him coldly.

  Todd didn’t flinch or look away. “I broke up with you because I wanted to ask Delia Apfelbaum to the prom,” he said. “But she turned me down.”

  Lisa Marie had to smile. The one good thing she could always say about Todd was that he was a straight shooter, almost unnervingly honest. She didn’t know any other guy who would just spit out the truth that way. It almost made her like him again. Almost, but not quite.

  “Thanks for telling me the truth,” she said softly. “But I’ve got other plans for the prom. I’m going with Marianna and Heather.”

  Todd looked hurt. He seemed to be racking his big brain, trying to think of some way to change her mind.

  “I’ve got to get back,” she said, turning toward the cash register.

  “Okay. Well, maybe I’ll see you at the prom?” Todd called hopefully. When she didn’t answer, he slinked out of Starbucks, scraping his messenger bag on the doorframe on his way.

  “I told you that was number six.” Graham snickered.

  Now you know how it feels, she thought as she watched Todd go.

  Chapter 10

  “It’s our first date after dark!” Marianna bubbled with excitement as she waited with Heather in a neighborhood coffee shop for Luke to pick her up for date number three.

  “I’m glad I don’t have to go on this one,” Heather joked. She hadn’t actually gone on Marianna’s other dates, but she’d driven her to and from them, so it almost felt like she had. “I get to leave when he picks you up, right? I’ve got so much studying for chem, it isn’t even funny.”

  “You’re studying on a Saturday night?”

  “Don’t even ask.”

  Heather had been hinting lately that she’d been too distracted to do much schoolwork, and Marianna knew exactly how she felt. How could she think about her classes these days? All her energy was channeled into two things: thinking about Luke, and trying to keep her dad from figuring out that she was dating on the sly.

  Last week, she and Luke had had lunch at the mall and then went to his house for the big Ping-Pong playoff. Of course he beat her mercilessly, although there was a moment when she almost scored twice in a row because he was laughing so hard at her pitiful serve.

  Heather had played chauffeur for that date, too, driving Marianna both ways. What else are best friends for?

  But tonight was the real deal: dinner at a café with live music somewhere near Dupont Circle, which was Marianna’s favorite trendy-yet-historic-shopping-and-dining D.C. neighborhood.

  Heather was just keeping her company at the rendezvous point until Luke arrived.

  “There he is,” Marianna said, getting up. She had told Luke not to bother hunting for a parking spot. Why waste time they could spend together? “Thanks—talk to you later!” she called to Heather.

  “Sure,” Heather said. “I mean, call if you want. If it’s not too late.”

  Funny, Marianna thought. If Lisa Marie had been there, she would have said, “Call me with all the details when you get home.” For some reason, Heather didn’t seem to want to hear about it if Luke got to second base.

  She slid into the Volvo beside Luke and immediately smelled his aftershave. It was nice, so different from his sweaty smell in the mornings when they were running cross country.

  “Kazanjian, you look amazing,” Luke said, staring as she crossed her long legs.

  “Thanks. You smell good.”

  “I hope you like Thai food,” Luke said. “This place we’re going has a bunch of different Asian things, but the Thai dishes are really awesome.”

  “Basil rolls it is,” Marianna said happily.

  When they got to the café, the place was empty and quiet—the music didn’t start till later. Perfect, Marianna thought. This way they could camp out in the best corner booth, which was more like a tropical hut, draped with printed Thai silk fabrics and layered with red and purple spangled pillows. If the place had been crowded, they’d never have gotten such a prime location.

  Luke ordered an appetizer sampler platter, and when it came, he ate the prawn pancakes expertly with chopsticks.

  “I love watching you eat,” he said between bites. “You’re not like a lot of girls. They either won’t eat, or won’t admit they enjoy it.”

  “You should see me eat a lobster with my bare hands,” Marianna said.

  “With your bare hands?”

  “My uncle Oscar taught me how to do it,” Marianna said. “You can even get the meat out of the claws with nothing more than a dinner knife, if you know how.”

  “See what I mean? A girl who eats lobster with her bare hands!” Luke announced loudly to the neighboring tables.

  Marianna giggled. She would have been embarrassed, but the nearby tables were empty, so no one noticed.

  “Everything here is delicious,” Marianna said, and meant it in more ways than one.

  By the time the band started playing, it was ten o’clock. Marianna had promised herself that she wouldn’t get nervous and start acting like she was going to turn into a pumpkin, but she couldn’t help it. Even though she was theoretically having dinner with her friends at the mall, she knew her dad would grill her when she got home. How come you’re so late? Doesn’t the mall close at nine? Why didn’t you eat earlier?

  He’d want to make sure that they hadn’t run into any opportunities to rub up against boys.

  Just to spite him, she scooted closer to Luke. She turned her face up toward his. He bent his head and kissed her softly.

  Mmm. His kisses were wonderful.

  When she opened her eyes, he was looking at her questioningly. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Nothing.” It was a lie.

  “You’re worried about your dad?”

  How did he know? He was amazing. He could even read her mind.

  “Sort of.”

  “Let’s go, then,” Luke said.

  He took her hand, and they walked to his car without saying anything. The spring night air felt soft on her face. She looked up through the trees on Connecticut Avenue and tried to find some stars, but there weren’t any.

  “I’ll show you a good place to see stars,” Luke said, pulling her closer to him while they walked to the car.

  He turned on an oldies station in the car, and they drove for a while in silence. Even this part was nice, just riding in Luke’s car, letting him decide where to go. He crossed the bridge over the Potomac and parked facing the river, just a few miles from her house.

  “Come here,” he said, pulling her toward him.

  Making out with Luke in his car, with the cool night air blowing in the windows and the lights from the Jefferson Memorial sparkling across the way . . . Who needed to see stars, anyway?

  Luke kissed her on the mouth, then the neck. Marianna thought she might melt.

  He stopped before she was ready to.
“I’ve got to get you home,” he said.

  Marianna fought the urge to say, “No, you don’t.”

  When they reached her street, he stopped the car again, a few houses away, so her dad wouldn’t see who was bringing her home.

  “Listen,” he said. “I’ve got to say this. I want to take you to the prom.”

  Wow. She’d been hoping he’d ask, even though she couldn’t possibly say yes.

  “I’d love to,” she said, apologizing with her eyes, “but my dad will never let me go with a date. I had to beg for two weeks—and Lisa Marie’s parents had to call him three times!—before he’d even let me go to the prom with girlfriends.”

  “I figured,” Luke said. “But I want to be there with you. Who cares if I don’t pick you up? You can meet me there, and it’ll still be a date.”

  “Yeah?” Marianna said, glowing.

  “I’ll even bring you a corsage,” Luke promised, pulling her close for one last kiss.

  Marianna floated from the car to her front door. She couldn’t believe it! She had a date for the prom with the sweetest guy on earth.

  Chapter 11

  “We’ve got to hook her up,” Marianna told Lisa Marie at lunch on Monday, while Heather was at the salad bar getting blue cheese dressing to put on the salad she’d brought from home.

  “I know. I don’t want to dump her the minute we get there, but . . .”

  “Totally,” Marianna agreed. “She needs someone to hang with. What about Derrick?”

  “Oh, please. She can’t stand him.”

  “How about Ahmad?”

  “He’s too short for her.”

  “Michael Frenkel?”

  “Can’t dance.”

  “Well, think! Who else is there? Although I admit it’s going to be rough, since you’ve got half the senior class planning to meet you.”

  Lisa Marie blushed but decided to ignore that one. “How about Tony? I still say it’s Tony. She likes him.”

  “Who likes who?” Heather asked, coming back with her perfectly arranged salad of apples, walnuts, jicama, edamame, and gorgonzola on oak leaf lettuce.