Frozen Barriers

by Sara Shirley

  Suzanne picked up her phone, and I heard her say, “Hey, Morgan! Just wondering if you are busy May 15th? ...No, you say?...How about you join me at my prom?...No, I know you don’t swing that way, girl! I meant, tag along with me, but be Josh’s brother’s date… I don’t know, 6’1’’, 210 pounds, brown hair, decent… No, you don’t have to sleep with him, unless you want to… Okay, yeah, sounds good. Later.” She hung up and stared at me with evident anger showing over my face.

  “What the fuck was that?” I screamed.

  “Jeremy!” I heard my mom scold from the kitchen. “What have I told you about your language? Just because your father can’t control his profanities is no reason for you to follow in his footsteps.”

  “Sorry, Mom,” I cowardly said.

  “Suzanne, how could you possibly set me up with someone I’ve never met?”

  “Oh, c’mon, Jeremy. You know Morgan. She’s at the rink with me all the time,” Suzanne said nonchalantly.

  I tried to think of all the girls I’d seen with Suzanne at the rink. I never usually paid much attention to any of them, simply because they brought nothing but drama. There was one girl I remembered from years ago and thought maybe it was her, so I asked, “She’s not the one whose mom always yells at her when she’s on the ice, is it?” Suzanne gave me a look and a smirk like she knew exactly who I was talking about.

  “That’s Emily, but unless you want your ass handed to you on a platter, you’ll steer clear of her. Her mother is the devil incarnate! I’ve been trying to get that poor girl to hang out with us for years, but her mother won’t allow her out, for whatever reason. It’s as though until she’s an Olympic medalist she’ll never let her have any fun, so she trains and competes. That’s it. Rumor is, she’s changing skating clubs soon too, because to have Olympic backing, you’ve got to have a big name club attached to your name.”

  “Is she really that good?” I asked, not sure why.

  “She’s the shit, but she never seems to love the fun in all of it like Morgan, Lily and I do,” Suzanne said with a look of curiosity as she bounced her head between Josh and me.

  “Okay, so clearly, we’ve sidetracked here to talking about this Emily, who the fu…heck is Morgan?” I summoned.

  “Don’t worry. You can meet her after I go pick out my dress next weekend. Josh and I are going to grab some lunch afterwards.”

  “Fine, but if you set me up with some bimbo who will not shut up all night, I will make sure my mom and dad know what you and Josh are up to in the hot tub out back at night. They wouldn’t want their little Courtney walking outside to a sex session on full display, now would they?”

  Josh stood right up and hugged Suzanne into his side. “Don’t get your panties in a ruffle, Jeremy. You know once I’m done at the police academy, I’m out of here anyway.”

  My brother was about to complete the police academy in New Braintree and would soon be the newest patrolman on the Massachusetts State Police force, which meant he’d be moving out of the house just about the same time I would be trekking off to start my freshman year at Boston University. College life was not for him. As much as my parents would have loved for him to finish his education, his heart was only interested in going into the police force.

  I was sitting in Josh’s car, heading to lunch to meet Morgan, my set-up date for the prom, and feeling nothing but dread. Was it wrong to not want to attend your own prom?

  Josh glanced over at me and punched my shoulder. “Hey, stop sulking! If Suzanne is friends with her, she’ll be fine. Plus, it’s not like you have to date her or anything. She’ll probably spend most of the night with Suzanne anyway, so I guess you can dance with me.” Josh winked at me and chuckled.

  “Fuck off, asshole!” I spouted at him.

  We pulled up to Margaritas, a local Mexican restaurant. “Guess we beat the girls,” Josh said. “I’m going in and grabbing a table and let Sue know to meet us inside.”

  “Fine,” I said, making my way toward the front door.

  Once we were seated, it was about twenty minutes before Suzanne walked in with a cute little blonde chick with an incredible rack and small frame for her height. If this was Morgan, I had zero complaints, and would even hug Suzanne for the set up. Once the blonde looked over to us after stopping her conversation with Suzanne, raising her sunglasses on top of her head, her eyes met mine.

  “Fuck me,” I whispered. Josh took it upon himself to jab me in the side, clearly hearing my murmured words.

  Suzanne came over to the table and sat down after giving Josh a little more than affectionate kiss in public. She looked at me as I gestured with my eyes to perhaps introduce me to the girl she set me up to take to prom.

  “Oh!” she said. “Let me introduce you guys. Josh, Jeremy, this is Emily. She skates with me at the rink.” Hold the phone! Did she just say ‘Emily’? Where the fuck was Morgan? Not that I was complaining, because seriously, this girl was smokin’ hot, but didn’t Suzanne just say a few weeks ago how much baggage she had going on with her life?

  “Hi, it’s nice to meet you. Suzanne has been talking about this prom all afternoon. You guys must be excited to be going,” Emily said, trying to avoid eye contact with me by glancing down to her lap as she turned a sweet shade of red.

  “Emily, you might know Jeremy. He skates at the Valley Forum sometimes. Not so much anymore, now that he’s out of the Pee Wee League, but he grew up there basically with all of us,” Suzanne declared.

  Emily peered up at me and quickly said, “I’m not sure I remember seeing you, but it’s very possible I might have run into you in passing.”

  “Barbie.” It slipped out of my mouth before I knew I said it out loud. Shit! Emily gave me a look of not only confusion but also recognition, but at least she couldn’t place where she’d heard that before.

  The waitress came over with chips and salsa and took our drink and food order. Emily ordered a side salad with no dressing. All three of us looked at her as if she had three heads, maybe because we all ordered enough food to feed a small city and this girl ordered a side salad and water. I mean, I got the need to stay in shape, but Emily clearly didn’t need to watch her figure. She was maybe 110 pounds soaking wet. It was at this moment I was staring at her body, and most notably her C-cups, that she caught me gawking. Her mouth dropped open, and her teeth pulled at her lower lip. I swear my cock sprung to life. I needed a distraction and fast, so I said to Suzanne, “I thought you were supposed to be bringing Morgan with you?”

  Shifting in her seat, Emily looked at Suzanne and asked, “Was Morgan supposed to come here, too?”

  Suzanne answered, “Well, see, I set her up to go to prom with Jeremy because he didn’t want to go, and Josh didn’t want to not have a wingman all night. But, I never mentioned to her about the lunch, and then when I saw you at the rink, I asked you to tag along instead.”

  Emily looked taken aback. “So, you didn’t really need my help today dress shopping? You were supposed to bring Morgan instead for your double date?”

  Suzanne appeared as though she just ripped the poor girl’s heart out. “Oh, Emily, no! Morgan already had her dress from her own prom at her high school, and she couldn’t care less about Jeremy. She’s just going with us so the dicks don’t outnumber the cupcakes.”

  Emily appeared utterly confused, so I piped in, “What she means is Morgan and I don’t even know each other. Suzanne just doesn’t want to be outnumbered by the guys all night. Isn’t that right, Sue?” Suzanne nodded and smiled at Emily, and things seemed to be cool again with the group.

  Josh and Suzanne were feeding each other some of their lunch while Emily kept picking at her salad until she finally said, “Suzanne, I really think I ought to get going. My mother is going to be upset if I’m not back soon to take care of my class work.”

  Not ready to leave, Suzanne responded, “It’s still early, Em. What’s another half an hour? It will only take us ten minutes to get you home.” Emily scratched her head, visibly despon
dent for some reason. I’d seen her mom at work years ago, so I had an idea why she wanted to get home, and yet I couldn’t fathom living with such an overbearing parent.

  Without thinking, I spoke up, “I can take you home if you want.” Emily looked up, and I saw both relief and fear in her eyes. “I can take Josh’s car, and Suzanne can take him home when they’re ready.”

  Suzanne looked thrilled I suggested such a thing. “That would be great, Jeremy. If Emily really needs to leave then that will work out perfectly. Are you sure you don’t want to stay, Em? I mean, if not, it was really fun this afternoon. It’s just too bad we don’t get to hang outside the rink more often. And, I still need to teach you more about wet dreams.” My soda went spewing all over the table as I had a choking fit. Josh patted me on the back, trying to help me out.

  “I told you she didn’t have a filter,” he said. “On that note, Emily, the ride back to your house still stands if you want to go.”

  Emily stood and thanked Suzanne for a great time. She was about to give her some money for lunch, but I quickly grabbed her hand from her purse, and her eyes shot up to mine.

  “I’ve got this, Barbie.” I threw a twenty onto the table and waved bye to the other two as I escorted Emily out to Josh’s car.

  In my brother’s old Honda Accord, Emily buckled in and advised me where she lived in Andover. I started toward her house, and she cleared her throat, a sign she was uncomfortable sitting in the car with me.

  “Why do you keep calling me Barbie?” she asked quietly. I chuckled to myself because she clearly had no idea who I was.

  “I must have really made quite the impression on you if you don’t remember me.” She shook her head as she stared at me in utter confusion. “About four years ago, you were coming in for a dress rehearsal or something, and you were dressed in some crazy frilly getup with sparkles and nonsense. I was just finishing hockey practice at the Forum when you came out of nowhere, and I ran right into you, knocking you on your ass. I called you ‘Barbie,’ and when I bent over to try to help you up, you were so pissed you stormed off. I remember watching your practice session with my mom afterwards and thinking with your costume, makeup and hair, even at such a young age, you reminded me of a Princess Barbie doll. It kind of stuck, I guess.”

  She chuckled, and I felt as though I had butterflies in my stomach. What the hell was wrong with me? Girls never had that effect on me. Somehow this chick had worked her way around my finger, because I was pretty sure if she said jump, I’d ask how high.

  “Oh my gosh! That was you? I was so mad at you for knocking me over that day,” she said. We were maybe five minutes from Emily’s house when she quickly suggested, “Perhaps you ought to drop me off at the end of the driveway.”

  “Emily, I can drive you up to your door, a few more feet won’t run the gas tank dry.”

  “No, it’s not that. It’s just I was supposed to be out with Suzanne, and it might upset my mother if I show up with you,” she timidly said.

  I understood then. I remembered how her mom was and agreed, even though I wanted her to speak up and fight for once instead of getting trampled again. “Fine, but on one condition.”

  “What’s that?” she questioned hesitantly.

  “If I drop you off out here, you have to at least take my number and call me when you get home.”

  “Are you serious? You want me to call you when I get home when you are dropping me off at the end of my driveway?”

  “Yeah, you can never be too careful. Plus, if you went missing between here and there, that will all be on me, and I don’t really want to be the one who lost Emily Cameron.”

  She chuckled softly and glanced up at me shyly. “Give me your number, but you are totally being ridiculous and stop it with the Barbie name. I’m not eleven anymore.”

  “No, Emily, you are definitely not eleven anymore.” With that slip of the tongue, I caught a slight blush creep across her cheeks as she looked away. Why the hell was I flirting so much with her? Clearing her throat, she pointed out that her parents’ house was coming up just ahead. Pulling up to the end of her driveway, I parked outside of a large gate. “Look, if I can’t see the house from here, how am I really supposed to know you got home okay?”

  “Jeremy, really, it’s right there. Nothing is going to happen, but for the sake of making you happy, I’ll call you the minute I get inside.”

  With that, I gave her my cell number as she plugged it into her phone. Emily grabbed her bag and moved to open the door, but turned around to face me before leaving. “It was nice meeting you, Jeremy. I really appreciate the drive home and thanks for lunch.”

  “It was nice to meet you under different circumstances, Emily. I know Suzanne can be a bit much at times, but hopefully, we can all hang out again sometime soon.”

  She opened the passenger door and stepped out of the car, leaning over before shutting the door and giving me a nice view of her great rack. I chuckled to myself because she clearly had no idea she was flashing me.

  “I hope so, too. It was fun to be away from the rink for a while with new people.” She shut the door and quickly stepped through the gates and down the dimly lit driveway.

  I wondered if she’d actually make good on my request for a phone call, so I waited it out for a few minutes. I mean, how long did it take for someone to walk the length of a driveway? If this were my house, I’d already be calling her. Clearly, we came from two completely different lifestyles, but somehow I had a feeling she was not all that happy living in hers.

  About ten minutes later, my phone lit up next to me. Seriously, any longer and the neighborhood watch women would have been calling the police because I was sitting in my brother’s old Accord on the street.

  “Hey, Barbie.”

  “Stop calling me that! How did you know it was me calling?” she said quietly.

  “Um, well, let’s see. The only person I’ve been waiting for a call from is you and considering I no longer see you walking down your driveway, I’d assume it was either you calling or my brother looking for his car. But, my brother comes up on my caller ID as “Shithead,” so it had to be you.”

  She chuckled. “You are a strange one, Jeremy Page. Did you really wait out there this entire time?”

  “I’m a man of my word. If anything were to happen to you on my watch, I’d be devastated. I’m glad you made it home all right, though. Call me if you are ever at the rink again. Maybe I can show you some new moves.”

  “Only if you wear one of my frilly outfits and a whole lot of spandex,” she retorted with a flirty attitude in her voice,

  “I look forward to your call, Emily. I’ll see you around.”

  “Sure, Jeremy. Thanks again for the ride. Bye.”

  With that, she hung up, and the line went dead. I turned on the engine and started to drive off when my brother called me.

  “Dude, where the hell is my car? I’ve been waiting at Mom and Dad’s for thirty minutes now, and Courtney is driving me nuts with the Spice Girls movie!”

  I knew exactly what movie Josh was talking about, and Courtney had it playing all day and night, but so long as I had my earplugs in at the house, it wasn’t so bad.

  “I just left Emily’s house, and I’m on my way home now.”

  “Please tell me you didn’t do anything in my car, Jeremy,” Josh said with a hint of curiosity.

  “Dude, the girl is hot, but seriously, unless global warming occurs anytime soon, that’s one ice princess who will never give me the time of day, let alone use your backseat for a make-out session.” Although, in the back of my mind, she really was fun to be around and I would have liked to see what made her tick inside. Something told me there was more to her than what was on the surface. Hopefully, she’d call me, and I could make good on that deal. I could do more than make her blush if she caught me wearing anything in spandex.

  2013

  It is my day off from training and the rink. I’ve made plans at the spa for a mani-pedi and then I
’m heading over to the gym for a quick Barre and yoga class. At least I’ll be able to take away a little bit of stress while I’m there. In a couple of months, my training will be probably every day, as my mother will require me to prepare for the US Nationals. Everything will be riding on my placing, considering this year’s competition will be held in Boston. Mother says Daddy has donated a lot of money toward the advertising for his company and how it would look good for the family if I were to medal in my hometown. No pressure on my shoulders at all. A part of me would like to just stick it to them and not place in the top ten. That would really piss them off to no end. But, at the end of the day, who am I kidding? I’ll end up making them happy, even if it means I’m not.

  I’m wrapping up at the day spa and trying to keep my nails from hitting against anything when I hear someone shout my name. “Oh my gosh, Emily Cameron! Is that you?” I turn my head in that direction only to see Suzanne walking toward me. I smile politely, as it’s been at least eight years since I’ve seen her. As she approaches me, she hurriedly strides up looking me over. “It is you! It’s been so long. I can’t believe how good you look! What on Earth are you doing up here?” She was always one for being overly dramatic.

  “Hi, Suzanne. It’s nice to see you, too. I was just in the area, so I drove up to see about getting a mani-pedi.” I wave my nails at her. “It’s my only day off for a while, so I needed some time to de-stress.”

  “Oh! That’s right. You’re still competing. I thought I read somewhere you were a top contender for this year’s Nationals, right?!”

  I sigh because this is all anyone knows or asks about me. Never does anyone ask me what I want to do or like to do besides the skating career. “Yeah, I’m still skating. You know my mother. She’ll never let me do what I want, so I’m still training like crazy and competing at least five months out of the year.”

  She must sense my sadness because she immediately slaps her hand on my shoulder and looks me in the eyes. “Well, we need to totally catch up. I was about to go grab a quick bite and drink across the street. Come join me. I’m not taking no for an answer.”