Hoax (7 page)

             
I turned and quickly walked out, having no witty comeback for Buzz Cut.  And as I left I heard the jab at me for not answering his question.

             
“Snobby little slut.”

              I calmed myself down with thoughts of seeing Abel again.  I drove slowly, willing myself to forget what I had just seen and praying I would never have to see those people again. 

             
I pulled into the driveway and Abel sat on the small set of steps that led to the side door with a satisfied smirk on his face.  How he managed to get home and pay for the food before I even got there was beyond me. 

             
“How in the world did you manage that?” I said as I approached him.

             
“Mrs. Chang was my nanny for a long time.  I called in a favor.”  He said as he shrugged as if it was no big deal.

             
“That really wasn’t the deal Collins.”  I pushed past him.

             
“There were no rules laid down lady.”  He laughed as he came into the house behind me. “What’s with the truck?” he nodded towards the garage.

             
“That’s my truck.  Why?” 

             
“I just saw you driving the other car.  I thought it was yours.” 

             
“Nope, the truck is mine; the BMW is the Stephenson’s.  So, you know everyone in town, right?”  I pulled out cartons of noodles and chicken.

             
“Pretty much, why?” 

             
“There were some pretty rowdy guys at the Chinese place—harassing the bus boy.”

             
I looked at him and all the color left his face at once. 

             
“What did they look like?”  He took a long pull on his water bottle and cleared his throat.

             
“The main guy had a military type cut.  They tripped the bus boy and called me a snobby slut.”

             
It came out unemotional just like I wanted it to.  I shrugged for effect.  I didn’t want Abel to think that it really upset me.  I had the feeling he was the type that would be in his truck defending my honor in a heartbeat.

             
“Are you okay?  They didn’t try to hurt you did they?” He was in front of me in an instant with his hand cupping my chin turning my face back and forth.

             
“No, that one guy just called me a name.  Who cares?  I just wondered if you knew who they were.”

             
“I think I do.  If they ever, ever say anything to you again, you have to tell me, ok?”

             
“Yeah, okay.”

             
I opened the cartons and got out plates and forks and we ate without any further talk of Chinese food bullies.  He reacted so strongly though.  I wondered if maybe these were his ‘asshole’ friends.  I decided to let it go. 

             
As we ate dusk fell outside and the lights in and around the pool came on automatically.  I put the leftovers in the refrigerator as Abel finished his food silently.

             
“I’ll be back.”  I ran upstairs and changed into a burgundy two piece suit and threw my cutoffs on.  I had never been one of those girls who cringed at the thought of going out in front of someone with my swimsuit on.  Not to mention that Wellsley girls were kept on a strict vegetarian diet and P.E. was not optional.  But even during the summer when I ate whatever I wanted, I didn’t care about the five or ten pounds.  I guess I just didn’t care.

             
I reached the bottom and Abel was not there.  The pool house lights were on so I figured he was changing.  I grabbed some towels and threw them on one of the lounge chairs.  I took my shorts off and waded into the shallow end and swam to the deep.  I came up for air and grabbed hold to each side of the diving board.  I knew he was there.  Without even looking I knew that he was at the shallow end, waiting, watching. 

             
“Can’t swim?”  I smiled at him.

             
He dove under the water and swam towards me.  He came to the surface slowly, eyes open looking at me the whole time.  He reached up and grabbed the edge of the diving board and kicked his legs in front of me. 

             
“What were you saying?”  He laughed.

             
He inched his hands up the diving board until they touched mine and his chest was just far enough away from me for water to run between us.  I remembered that my hair probably was a mess and I leaned back to let the water smooth it out.  When I came back to face him he was staring at my neck and then his eyes bore a trail up my neck to my lips.  I could feel every patch of skin that he looked at bloom to red like flowers coming to life under the blare of the sun. 

             
He let his left hand relinquish its hold on the diving board and traced his fingers across my shoulder blade and then back towards the nape of my neck.  His fingers flexed and I took it as a gentle invitation to get closer to him.  But that was way too easy.

             
Instead, I smiled at him, straightened my body and let myself sink to the bottom and swim back towards the shallow end.  I sat on the steps and leaned back on my elbows while his back was still turned to me.  I lifted my face to the skies to take in the moon and the stars. 

             
“You suck.” He said and we both laughed. After a few minutes, I heard splashing and sloshing water.

             
“Corinne” He whispered it, suddenly in front of me.

             
“I don’t want to but I need to go.  I have to work tomorrow, you know, here.”  He chuckled a bit but I could tell that he really hated to go.

             
“And I have to go to Monroe tomorrow.  Mrs. Stephenson ordered some curtains and I have to go pick them up.  So I’m not sure if I will see you tomorrow or not.”

             
He groaned and I loved the sound of it because it meant that he was going to miss me.

             
“Ok, well, we better get out.”

             
I got out, followed by Abel and grabbed a towel to dry off.  He dried off beside me and picked up his stuff to leave.  He stopped in front of me and tucked his clothes under his arm. 

             
“Why don’t you call me when you get home tomorrow?” He said as he lifted a wet strand of hair from my face.

             
“Mmmmhmmm,” and he walked away from me.  I shivered, not because I was cold but because I felt bereft of his presence. How weird it was to feel a chill in the middle of the summer heat.  Abel was constantly messing with my temperature and I loved every second of it.

             
I walked to the fence which separated the pool area from the rest of the backyard and held on to the points of the fence boards watching him leave. 
How do you get so attached to someone after only two weeks?
He looked back as if he heard me but continued on to his truck.  He opened the door, threw his stuff in and then stilled, standing in the opening.

             
Turn around, turn around, turn around. For the love of all that’s holy, turn around.

             
He backed away from the truck and did just that.  He walked back towards me and I held on so dearly to the fence boards that I could feel shards of wood pricking my skin, threatening to leave a splinter.  I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his; they were so full of want, so full of care.

             
He finally reached the fence and pulled me to him, both hands on each side of my face.  He didn’t hesitate—perfect.  I gripped the towel that made an upside down U around his neck and used the grip to pull him even closer.  His lips, his mouth, his tongue, I swear were all ten degrees warmer than mine.  I found myself needing this warmth now, yearning for him to warm me inside and out.

             
His thumbs began to caress my face slower and slower and they matched the pace of his mouth, coming to a halt. 

             
“Hmmmmm,” it was an inadvertent sound that came from my throat.

             
He chuckled, his lips paying homage to me one last time by enveloping my chin. 

             
“I really have to go,” he said as he started to back away.

             
“Ok, bye.”  I watched him make a repeat trip to his car and went inside before he started it up and before I tried to stop him from leaving.  I went straight into the bathroom and took a warm shower.  And standing there with the water pouring down my face I found myself smiling—smiling in the shower like a goon. 

             
I had dated two guys in my life.  One was a summer fling.  I don’t even know if one would call it dating.  But the whole time he was sharing walks with me in the woods at night, trying to get in my pants, he was also trying to get into the pants of every other girl in the camp.  The other guy was Cole.  Cole was an arrogant punk who considered it a favor to me to be seen at the Wellsley dances with him.  He went to Clifton, the male counterpart of Wellsley and we were strongly encouraged to fraternize with boys from Clifton.  So strongly, that we were only allowed to bring Clifton students as dates to dances.  It blew.

             
So this, whatever it was, with Abel was really throwing me for a loop.  He acted like I was precious to him.  When he touched me, it wasn’t crass or aggressive, it was as if he was handling a precious piece of glass.  It was like nothing I’d ever known.

             
I got out of the shower and put on some pajamas but after swimming I was starving again.  I heated up the leftover Chinese and sat on the island to eat it.  I heard my message tone  and looked at the message.

             
Abel: Don’t eat my Chinese food. 

             
Me: Too late
.


             
Abel: Not nice. 

             
Me: Yup.             

             
Abel: I had a great day with you. Ttyl.

             
Me: Me too.

              I polished off the noodles and left the rice and chicken for Abel.  I sat around and watched some disturbing reality TV shows when I got another text message.

             
Dad: I trust the job is going well. 

             
Me: Yes, it is.  Thank you.

             
Dad: Good.

             
I rolled my eyes at my robotic father and decided to go to bed.  What I wouldn’t give for regular parents. 

Abel

              I’ve kissed her twice now and already I’m addicted, ready to turn this truck around and go back for one more fix.  Who was I kidding?  I was an addict after the first one. 

             
I got home and texted her, after today there was no doubt in my mind that she felt the same way about me as I did about her.  We didn’t say the words but I knew.  I showered the chlorine away and crawled into bed.  And as I started to drift off, I remembered what she said about the group at the Chinese place.  I knew exactly who it was and it was then the panic of what could happen crashed down on me.  Either they would choose her as one of their emotional punching bags or she would become a part of our group.  Honestly, I didn’t know which one was worse.  I had to keep her away from them.  They couldn’t touch her.  I wouldn’t let them.  It was one thing to be a bystander while they were jerks to other people but I wouldn’t stand around while they bullied her. 

             
Monday morning I went to work, not caring if I was early or not.  Already the yard needed mowing.  But that wouldn’t be any fun without Corinne.  So I got out the stark white paint and poured it into the backpack paint sprayer and started on the storage building.  I finished one coat and with the heat was able to almost immediately start the second coat.  After the second coat, I went to eat and returned to paint.  At four o’clock I decided to quit for the day, I finished both the storage building and half of the barn.  At this rate I would be done way before the summer ended.  I needed to drag this thing out some more. 

             
I got into the truck and realized that after lunch I left my phone in the car.  I checked it and had one voicemail and one text message.  The voicemail was from my mom reminding me that tonight we were having a family meeting.  We had family meetings once a month and usually during the summer it was to remind me of when they were going on their annual cruise. 

             
I checked the text message and a smile came to my face instantly. 

             
Corinne: Didn’t know curtains were so much trouble.  Miss you. On my way back.