Hoax (5 page)

             
For the rest of the week, we spent all day together.  I helped him paint and he made me laugh.  And every night just as I started to miss him, the phone would ring and we talked long into the night. 

Abel

              Our date was in an hour and I thought I would be nervous but I wasn’t.  Somehow within the last two weeks Corinne and I had become friends, not the kind of friends I had in school but a friend like I’d never had.  I guess that would change tonight.  Part of me hoped that we could be both.  That she could stay my friend but I could kiss her anytime I wanted at the same time.  I wondered if that would work.  Because the urge to kiss her, to hold her hand, to touch her hair, wrap my arms around her waist and pull her to me—it was all becoming harder and harder to deny.  The thing was, we hadn’t specified whether or not this was a date. 

             
Hey Corinne, is this a date?  ‘Cause I’m desperate to get my hands on you and my arms around you, and my lips on you.

             
I groaned at my inner conversation and threw on a gray button down shirt and rolled up the sleeves.  I thought about wearing nice khakis but decided on a pair of jeans and my Chucks instead.  I had never obsessed about clothing so much in all my life.  It was flat out ridiculous. 

             
I pulled up at the house about ten minutes early.  I looked up to see her dart past the window and my need to see her jumped up about forty notches.  I got out and knocked on the door, it wasn’t necessary but I wanted to do things right. 

             
She opened the door and I nearly choked right there.  Her hair was a little curlier than usual and she had make-up on tonight.  It didn’t make her more beautiful, it simply made her a new kind of beautiful that I’d never seen.  She blushed under my stare and I looked down to see she wore a purple dress with mere straps holding it on her.  It was short but not too short, something I had come to expect from Corinne.  She always maintained her modesty. 

             
All the girls at school tried to skirt the edges of decency.  They had to wear uniforms so they bent the rules as far as they would go.  Their skirts barely passed inspection and when the teacher wasn’t looking they’d roll the waistband to make them shorter.  They left three, sometimes four buttons undone on their school deemed uniform shirts.  It was ludicrous. 

             
“Do I look ok?  Should I change?”  She asked quietly.

             
“No, you look perfect.  A little too perfect, you kinda had me in a trance.”

             
“Sorry.” She blushed redder and laughed.

             
“Don’t ever be sorry for that.  Really, you’re gorgeous tonight.”

             
“Thanks Abel” And then she answered my questions with one sentence.  She moved and kissed my cheek.  “You’re turning out to be a great date already.”

             
I opened her side of the truck and we took off on the hour drive to Monroe.  I got brave about halfway down the road and reached over and took her hand in mine.

             
Please don’t pull away. 

             
She didn’t disappoint, like she was waiting for me all along.  Maybe she was.  Maybe she knew what this was, knew what we were and was just waiting for me to catch up.  She squeezed my hand a little and it confirmed what I thought. 

             
We parked at a chain restaurant across the street from the movie theater.  We walked towards the door and this time she reached for my hand.  We got a table and she ordered a huge burger and fries.  I lifted my eyebrows when she ordered and when the waitress walked away she asked me, “What?”

             
“You just surprise me.  That’s all.” I shrugged.

             
“Why because I ordered actual food,” She asked.

             
“Yeah, actually.”

             
“I have no shame when it comes to eating.  I wouldn’t be much of a chef if I did, right?”

             
“That’s true.” 

             
We ate but didn’t talk very much since a large group came in behind us and were really loud and rowdy. We finished eating, crossed the street and I bought tickets for the movie after a small amount of protest from Corinne about paying her own way.

             
We watched while zombies ate people and moaned and groaned.  Her feet were crossed on top of the chair in the row in front of us and the only time I knew she was scared was when she clenched her toes.  Once I noticed that, I spent the rest of the movie watching her feet instead of the movie.  Her toes were much more interesting. 

             
Towards the end of the movie she leaned forward, enraptured with who was going to die next.  I chuckled a little to myself.  She was captivating.  I reached over to put my hand on her back and before I knew it she had jumped into the chair in front of her and had let out an ear piercing scream that I was sure could be heard all the way back home.  She instantly realized that it was me and not some rogue zombie and then the giggling began.  She stayed in the same seat until the end of the movie and I watched her shoulders never stop shaking until the end.  The lights came up and she turned and gave me the most pitiful stink eye I had ever seen.

             
“You scared the crap out of me Abel.  I thought one of those things were after me.” 

             
“I’m sorry,” I tried to sound sincere but I kept laughing. “I just reached over and you hopped into the next row like a bullfrog.” 

             
“Next time touch me before the scary parts start—Jeez.”

             
She turned to kneel in the seat in front of me and reached over for her purse.  I made sure to be closer when she got it and was back in front of me.

             
“Next time, I won’t let you go.  That way, you don’t have to be scared at all.”

             
She turned her head a bit and squinted her eyes at me. 

             
“You can’t kiss me yet.” When she said it I moved back, shocked again.

             
“Why not?”
Sure, I’ll play.

             
“Because if the kiss sucks then I’ll have to ride all the way home with you and it will be kinda awkward.”

             
“Hey, I have it on good authority that I’m a great kisser.” 

             
“I didn’t say you weren’t.  But both people can be great kissers and the chemistry is just not there.  Just like you can have two people who suck at kissing but if they have the right chemistry…” 

             
“Well, let me get you home so we can see which ones we are.”

Corinne

              Where in the hell did that chemistry and kissing speech come from?  Good Lord I sounded like one of those newspaper advice columns.  The weird thing?  He looked intrigued.

             
We got into his truck and just as I started to put my seatbelt on he said, “You’re too far away.” 

             
I scooted to the middle and found a lap only seatbelt and fastened it. 

             
“Much better,” he whispered in my ear before starting the truck up and heading towards home. 

             
Even though it was a Louisiana summer night and I expected the heat, the temperature inside the cab of his truck was absolutely stifling.  It was simply his presence, his nearness, the fact that his thigh touched my thigh, the way he looked at me every time he stopped the truck at a light or a stop sign. But at the same time, the feeling was addictive. What had gotten into me?

             
We finally reached the house.  He got out first and extended a hand to help me out.  I slid out and he shut the door behind me.  I moved to lean against the back of his truck, not quite able to walk yet.  He stepped towards me and I froze, unable to move or speak.  He placed his palms on the truck beside me one on either side of my shoulders and leaned in slow, way too slow.  He diverted his path towards my right side and reached out to brush my hair away from my neck.  My heart thumped in my ears like a set of speakers with their bass turned up too loud.  I could almost feel as every single hair dragged over my shoulder and the tips tickled as they trickled down my back. 

             
“It’s too bad…” As he spoke I felt the warmth of his breath on my ear.

             
Twice I tried to speak before anything came out.  “Too bad about what?”

             
“I’m not gonna kiss you tonight.  I don’t want to rush it with a girl like you. So it’s too bad we have to wait to find out about the chemistry.”

             
“You suck.”  It came out before I thought about it.

             
He put his forehead on my shoulder and laughed along with me.  I let myself laugh at the situation even though a part of me, a bigger part than I wanted to admit, was hurt and dejected.  It was the dejection that spoke next.

             
“Ok, it’s getting late.  I’d better go in.”

             
“Already?”  He whispered.

             
“Yeah, I’ll see you Monday.”

             
I broke free from the cage of his warm arms and walked to the side door and went in, forcing myself not to look back. 

             
Did he say ‘a girl like me?’  What is that supposed to mean?

             
I got inside and changed into my pajamas and went straight to bed.  Abel had confused the hell out of me.  One minute we were on a date, the next minute he’s rushing us out at the mention of kissing.  Then he drives me almost to insanity on the way home and then?  Nothing.  And they say girls are indecisive?

             
Sunday morning I woke and took my bowl of cereal out to the back porch.  I sat there most of the morning reading and swinging on the massive Cypress swing.  My phone rang and I answered it.

             
“Hello?” I didn’t look to see who it was.

             
“Hey.”  Abel didn’t sound like his usual self.

             
“What are you up to?” I sat up in the swing and nearly fell off of it.

             
“Nothing.  Can I—can I come see you?”  He said. 

             
As if I wouldn’t want to see him ever in my life.

             
“Of course.  When?”   If I had my choice he would’ve been here already.

             
“In a few minutes.  I’m actually almost there.”

             
“I’m on the back porch.” And giddy as can be.

             
“Okay” 

              About ten minutes later I heard his truck in the driveway.  He walked up the stairs and plopped down next to me on the swing. 

             
“What’s up?”  I said as I nudged his shoulder with mine.  He looked like someone just killed his dog.

             
“Nothin,’” he shrugged and looked out towards the back yard.

             
“Liar,” I said while I turned to face him.

             
“I tried.” He said, “I tried to not call you and not come over here.  But then I just gave up. ” He laughed a little.

             
“I thought you were going to call last night.” I said, and it was just plain honesty.  I did think he was going to call.

             
“I thought it would be too weird if I called that soon.”  I smiled and huffed a little laugh to recognize his pitiful lack of reasoning.

             
“Hey Abel, look at me.” He looked up first and then to me.  “Look, I’ve only dated two guys before and they were both jerks.  Can you just—can you just do what you want to do?  Don’t worry about rules and what people say and don’t second guess yourself.  If you want to call, call.  If you want to see me, then come see me.  Because while you were second guessing yourself last night, I waited for you to call.  I guess I could’ve called too. And when you called this morning wanting to come over, I already missed you.  Ok?”

             
Good grief, I let my mouth work overtime this morning. 

             
“I missed you too and yeah, I can do that.” He leaned back in the swing and pushed out a long breath.

             
We sat there, not speaking or talking for what seemed like hours.  I didn’t know what was going through his head but it was ok.  Just sitting without talking was perfect.