Instead of responding she threw her arms around my neck and laughed, her beautiful blue eyes inches from mine.
“I am in love with you!” She kissed my lips; I responded passionately.
I kissed her back like I’d never kissed her before. I wasn’t the least bit nervous. I felt elated. I kissed her like I was in love. Because I was.
I finally let her free and she looked like she had forgotten how to breathe. I sighed and let her go, wishing that I could be with her. I didn’t even try for another kiss. At this point, it would be like torture. An image flashed into my mind of being there the next morning, making her breakfast, seeing her sleepy face smiling at me. Neither of us said anything; I think our minds were working exactly the same. She turned for the door quickly, and I started walking to my new car.
It was the first time I imagined myself as her husband. I was watching her walk down the aisle towards me, almost mine. The thought almost paralyzed me with how much I wanted it. It took all my concentration to get to the street.
Once in my car, I saw her door open. She poked her head out so I rolled down the car window to see what she needed. I hoped it was something like, “hey, my parents aren’t home, want a night cap?” But what she actually said was much more daunting:
“Don’t forget David Anthony, next Saturday is the Prom!”
17. IT’S GETTING HOT, HOT, HOT
I was secretly excited to take Lucy to Prom. I knew about fifty guys who would jump at the opportunity to be her date so I decided not to be an idiot about it. I would quit pretending I wasn’t looking forward to it. I did, however, have a generally grumpy reputation to live up to, so I just let up on the grumbling without letting on how happy I was. Jennika and Lucy took Johnny and me to a tuxedo shop to pick out our tuxedos. The girls had already bought their dresses and wanted to make sure their boys matched them in fabulousness which, let’s face it, wasn’t going to happen. We already knew we would never look good enough to have those girls on our arms so we made the best of the situation. We made a point to mess with the sales lady.
The girls were getting more and more irritated with every suit we tried on. Johnny suggested renting the powder blue tuxedo and Jennika about tore his head off. It was really funny to see him get chewed out by his tiny black girlfriend whose eyes came up to his shoulders. It was a sight I never thought I would see. The best part was how happy Johnny looked. Around sophomore year he, like the rest of us, had given up all hope of any girlfriend, let alone a beautiful one. But here we were, trying on tuxedos in front of our two stunning girls.
Jennika laid down the law. Johnny had to get a formal tux with an ivory vest and a blue tie that matched her dress. When he had the whole ensemble on, he looked pretty sharp actually. Even his freckles looked less intense with so much flash going on around him.
I was luckier than Johnny. Lucy wanted me to get a Zoot Suit. The one she had picked out was amazing. It was black with white pinstripes, a black vest, and a bright white tie that stood out brilliantly. The hat was also back, with a white strip around the bottom above the brim. I even rented the saddle shoes and the chain. Once the whole outfit was assembled, I decided to completely go for the look and take all of my piercings out.
The reason was simple, and not actually really related to the suit. I wanted Lucy’s parents to be happy when they saw us leaving together. They had been really cool and never once mentioned my piercings or makeup, but I couldn’t help thinking that no father wanted his daughter going out with someone who looked like me. The night of Prom, I still wore my normal makeup, I even added a little blue to the edges of my eyes. I couldn’t take that part away; it just wasn’t in me. But I made sure all the piercings were safely tucked away on the top of my dresser.
Prom-night, when I walked into the kitchen with the whole look complete, my grandma looked like she was about to scream. She thought there was a zoot-suited gangster breaking into the house. Once she realized it was me, though, she immediately calmed down. She came up to me with her old wrinkled hands and cupped my face, rubbing her thumbs where my lip rings usually were. Hopefully I wouldn’t come home to find that all of my jewelry had mysteriously disappeared.
Grandma gave me a whole set of prom-night instructions. I was to call Lucy’s parents ma’am and sir. I was not to look down at my feet but look in their eyes. I was under no circumstances allowed to stammer my words, but must use clear, full sentences.
Did she even know me?
But she said that doing this kind of stuff would show the Petersons that their daughter was in good hands. I definitely wanted them to think that, so I filed all the grandma-rules away. The only part that stressed me out was that I hadn’t thought of any of this myself, which made me wonder if I was going to forget anything else important. For whatever reason, making this night perfect for everyone involved, even Lucy’s parents, was really important to me.
I was moments away from Lucy’s house, and was getting more anxious with each red light. I was ten minutes earlier than everyone else who was going in the limo. I’d planned it that way because I wanted to see Lucy for the first time without Johnny hissing in my ears. I wanted the movie slow-mo experience, were the girl walks down the stairs in her dress, looking amazing, some classical music playing, all that magical crap. Lucy had told me earlier in the week that she was wearing a black dress and wanted a white flower.
I, once again, thanked the powers that be that she had mentioned that, because I didn’t even know that I had to get flowers. Just like grandma’s rules, it wasn’t something I didn’t want to do, it just hadn’t occurred to me. Johnny had known, of course, so we had gone to the flower shop together and tried to figure out what the heck we were doing. We could have called Michelle for help, maybe, but she knew about as much as we did about fancy shindigs. In the end, I think we managed to get something nice for both of the girls, flowers that would help us look less like complete idiots.
I could not wait to see Lucy. The girl looked amazing when she was wearing old jeans and long-sleeved shirts so I could only imagine what she was going to look like tonight, when she was really trying to look beautiful. As I parked my little Honda, I got nervous again and wished fleetingly that I had my piercings back in my face. But I shook the feeling off. Who wishes for facial piercings when they’re feeling insecure?
I sat in the car for a minute, trying to figure out what I was going to do. Do I walk in and give her the flower? Do I shake Mr. Peterson’s hand first or formally greet Mrs. Peterson? How on earth was I going to get the flower onto Lucy’s dress? What if her parents were watching and I stabbed and/or accidentally touched their daughter’s chest?
My breath got short and I concentrated on calming down. No over-thinking tonight, I thought. This was supposed to be fun.
“Ok man, get your game face on. You can do this,” I mumbled to myself and got out of my car. Slow like a turtle, I walked to the front door and knocked. No one came, so I tried it again, this time a little bit harder. Then I noticed the bell, which I rang for good measure. The door finally swung open, Lucy’s father was on the other side. He looked at me questioningly for a moment then raised his eyebrows.
“David, son.” He held out his hand for me to shake, which I did, firmly and politely.
“Come in; we weren’t expecting you for a few more minutes. Lucy’s still getting ready.” He patted my back with his hand and led me into the kitchen. I wanted to stay at the bottom of the stairs to see Lucy but I didn’t think it was right to refuse him so I followed reluctantly. Suddenly remembering what my grandma told me, I stammered a “yes sir” at his back, which sounded rehearsed. He opened the refrigerator and stuck his head in, coming out with a carton of orange juice and shaking it at me.
“Want some?” He asked.
“No, thank you, sir.”
Lucy’s father smiled warmly and poured himself a glass. After he put the juice back in the giant fridge, he leaned against the counter and looked meaningfully at me.
“So, David, I’m assuming Lucy has told you about her purity ring.” He said it with such ease, like he was asking about Algebra class or something.
“Yes.” I patted my hair down against my face. “Sir,” I added.
“Good.” He swirled the orange liquid around in his cup for a few seconds then looked up at me again. “I think it is important to respect women, David. There is a time for everything and when you are a teenager the time always seems like now. As you reach adulthood, you realize that now is very rarely the time. I am trusting that you behave like an adult and respect Lucy’s commitment to do the same.”
I deflated. Not because I was planning on doing anything with Lucy, but because this was not how I pictured the night starting.
Prom-night opener: me getting the “sex talk” from Lucy Peterson’s dad.
“I understand, sir.” I remembered what my grandmother said and looked him in the eye.
“Good. Good!” He smiled again; he seemed encouraged. It was hard not to want to obey him, simply because he was so kind about the whole thing. Plus, if Lucy were my daughter she would probably be locked down in the basement. I sure as heck wouldn’t be letting her go to the prom with a guy like me, even if I did look decent in this getup.
“Yeah, I’ll be right back, I’m just getting something in the kitchen.” I heard Lucy’s voice and my heart leaped; I was about to see her. Her voice sounded funny though, like she was eating something. She came around the corner and almost tripped over her own feet when she saw me. Instead of a fitted black dress like I was expecting, I saw a pair of bright pink and blue striped shorts. They were so short they almost looked like underwear. A matching blue tank top and socks that came up to her knees rounded out the outfit. Her hair was exploding with curlers, all different colors and sizes. She had a strip of white across her nose and the best part, an electric toothbrush that was vibrating in her mouth, making her look rabid. Her face had zero makeup; the soft part under her eyes looked red because her naked eyes were so blue. Her lips were almost the color of her skin, with just a touch more pink. The freckles on her face made her look like she had speckles of dirt on her nose and cheeks.
I saw Mr. Peterson smile and shake his head just a little bit as he rinsed out his orange juice glass.
“David!” Lucy squeaked in a muffled voice; she looked horrified.
“Hey!” This was so Lucy, breaking all expectations I have about anything.
“You couldn’t have said ‘Lucy your boyfriend is here?!’’ She rounded on her father who flinched back in mock horror. She huffed and walked over to the sink to spit her toothpaste out and let the water wash it down the drain. I tried hard not to look at her because I knew there was nothing particularly respectful about my gaze.
Lucy had beautiful legs. She also had a really cute butt and right now her shorts were really little and I couldn’t help looking. I decided to just close my eyes. Lucy’s father was still in the room and I know he had to also be thinking of the conversation we had just finished.
I felt her hand touch my face and I chanced a peek. Tried to keep my eyes fixed on the ceiling, though.
“Hey, Luce.” I smiled as I said it because I just remembered that I had taken my piercings out and this was the first time she had seen me without them. She wore a shocked, mixed expression; I couldn’t tell if it was good or not. She put her thumb over my mouth like my grandma had and looked like she wanted to kiss me. But as she leaned in I stiffened up. She realized her father was in the room so she backed away from me, looking me up and down.
“Did you just get a nose job, hon?” Her father said amused. He also looked incredibly pleased that I was treating his daughter like a pale Medusa. Lucy groaned and pulled the white strip off her nose. The sound was like ripping a Band-Aid off and it looked painful.
“You’re early,” she said, still looking strangely at me.
“I only came ten minutes early, and I’ve been here for five…” I let my voice trail off as I lost control of my stupid eyes. She looked so cute in those shorts. She needed to go put on a pair of oversized sweat pants so my brain would start working properly.
“He is right, Luce, your friends are all going to be here soon.” Mr. Peterson looked at his watch as he spoke. She didn’t answer, just ran off, her father slapping her butt as she left. She jumped and laughed as he did that.
“Throw those shorts away while you’re up there.” His voice followed her up the stairs, which she was taking two at a time. He turned around and glared at me. I put my hands up in the air.
“I didn’t do anything.”
Mr. Peterson laughed and patted me on the back again. It had to be weird being a dad, knowing how guys would look at Lucy, and trying to communicate that to her. I didn’t really disagree with the whole throwing-shorts-away thing. But I knew Lucy well enough to know they weren’t going anywhere. I would, at some day in the future, be stupefied by them again.
“Gary.” Mrs. Peterson was calling for her husband to come upstairs. He smiled at me.
“The wife calls; excuse me.” As he left the room he was still shaking his head and laughing under his breath. I really liked him; he seemed like a good father, trying to balance what his kid wanted and what he felt was best for her. Plus, he didn’t have any problems telling a punk kid like me that I wasn’t to be touching his daughter. If I ever had a daughter, I hoped that I was like that with her.
I looked around the large kitchen that Mr. Peterson had provided for his family, part of a nice house that was taken care of with pride. I wanted that, I wanted a family of my own that took care of itself, and a wife who would help me take care of our children. Loving them, supporting them, training them. Lucy was lucky for a family like that, and I could see the benefits it had on her.
I laughed to myself. It wouldn’t have done any harm if she'd had a sibling though; the girl was spoiled like nothing I had ever seen before. She expected to get the things she wanted. If forced to work for them, she automatically went to manipulation. The worst part was I didn’t even think she realized she did it. I think it was just the way she was used to operating. So it was hard to call her out on it. But, at the same time, it made it okay to trust her and love her. She wasn’t manipulative for spite. Whatever the girl’s faults, she had a heart that was bigger than anyone’s I had ever met. She was accepting of me; her whole family was, and I appreciated it more than I could ever express.
My deep thoughts were interrupted when I heard the clicking of high heels behind me. I turned around and saw Lucy standing there but she hadn’t seen me yet. She must have thought I’d moved to the living room because she was looking in there. I would have waited for her in there, but I didn’t realize a girl could get ready in five minutes.
Lucy’s curlers had turned into a shiny mass of wavy hair, swept back in a fancy-looking ponytail, cascades of brown curls flowing down her back. A back that was, to my shock, completely bare. Her curved shoulder blades and her long arms were like artwork. When she heard me approach, she turned around.
I think my teeth fell out, right onto the floor. I could hear them clattering. I would have to eventually get those, but I wasn’t going to move.
A black dress wrapped Lucy’s torso, all the way up to a see-through turtleneck around her neck. The skin-tight fabric hugged her body all the way down to her lower thighs. The only part that didn’t highlight Lucy’s amazing curves was a bunched-up flounce thing in the back, like a dancer’s dress from the 1920s. Her black heels weren’t very high, but they laced up her leg to the middle of her calf, like ballet shoes. The outfit was a perfectly beautiful match to my unconventional tux. But that wasn’t all.
Her face looked unreal, like it was airbrushed out of a magazine. She was wearing foundation so her usually red jawbones were the same color as the rest of her face. Her lips were a darker color than usual, to match the 20s vibe of her dress. They were sort of reddish-maroon, and her lips were so big they would have overwhelmed her face if they didn’t match so well w
ith the rest of her outfit. The color made her eyes pop, even more than usual, which I hadn’t thought was possible. I felt a hand go up under my chin and pop it closed.
I whipped my head around to see who it was who had done that, since Lucy hadn’t moved, but that was like tearing my face apart because my eyes stayed on Lucy. She laughed and walked over to hug me, allowing my eyes a brief rest. Her father had come into the kitchen, without me noticing, and caught me ogling his daughter. Luckily, for me, the doorbell rang before he could speak. Answering it gave Mr. Peterson something to do, but not without putting his hand meaningfully on my back as he passed by me.
“David! Look at your face!” She put her arm up again and touched it, her hands on both of my cheeks. She tried to push the hair out of the way of my right eye. I let her move my hair aside and, for a second, felt brave. Without meaning to, I put my face down and looked to the ground.
I grabbed and kissed the hand that attempted to cross the boundaries of hair I had set.
“You look beautiful,” I said in her ear. “I would kiss you but it would make it look like we were making out in here.”
She pressed her lips together and smiled at me.
“I know, I have so much makeup on.”
“I like it,” I said truthfully. She grimaced a little, but looked pleased at the compliment.
“The gang’s all here.” Mr. Peterson called from the front of the house. We made our way down the hall.
Jennika and Johnny were standing inside the front door, talking with Lucy’s father, both looking completely at ease. Jennika was stunning, of course; she made Johnny look good.
“Come on, girl, the limo is here.” Jennika admonished Lucy as soon as we came around the corner. I saw she already had her flower pinned to her dress. Johnny was such a traitor. I looked down at my own flower that sat waiting next to the door, inside a clear box the florist had given me. I noticed Jennika’s was pinned on the right part of the strap on her dress. Johnny hadn’t had to touch much to get it on her. I, on the other hand, didn’t know how I was going to manage the sleeveless and the lacy turtleneck thing, especially with Lucy’s parents watching.
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