I love all my loyal reviewers, you all really helped me get through my writers block! Thanks so much!
"What's your real name?" I blurted out as I tried my best not to fall over into the alley's brick walls. He flicked his cigarette's ashes away from me and said,
"Curly is my real name."
"N-no it aint!" I pushed his chest playfully.
"Honest to Christ, it is!" He said with smile.
"You were not named Curly Shepard. Uh-huh, I don't believe it, no sir!" I rambled. He tripped on a crack in the middle of our walkway and I started to laugh uncontrollably.
When Curly recovered he looked up at me. He was not happy. My face fell into stone. He stared at me with his green reckless eyes.
And then, he broke into a smile and laughed. I laughed with him and he said between gasps for air,
"Y-you should've seen the look on your f-f-face! Hahahah!" I wiped tears from my eyes and struggled to stay upright and walking, my limbs felt heavy and the roller coaster feeling had not left.
"S-sho what's your real name?" I asked again, my street was coming into sight and I was trying to sober myself for the climb back through the window.
"I tell you what," he stopped walking exactly at the same place where we had met,"I'll trade you for it." I tried to cock my eyebrow like I saw Pony and Two-Bit do.
"what kind o-o-of trade?" I crossed my arms, hopin it added an effect that my slurring didn't.
"I'll tell you," he took a step closer," if you kiss me." I hugged my body and looked up into his shifty eyes.
I swung my head around quick and pecked him on the cheek.
"so what's your name?"
"That wasn't a real kiss!" He complained and stepped closer again. My nose was inches from his chest. I feared he was gonna do this. I was nervous about kissing another person. But I had to remind myself, I was a teenager and this is what we did right? This is what Sandy an Evie did? I bit my lip. I had goose bumps. The world was spinnin out of control.
But he was looking real good right now, with his hair all greased and wearin a tuff leather jacket. He smelt like cigarettes and aftershave. His body was radiating heat through his clothes. But that wasn't the only thing that emanated from his body.
His hand snuck behind my head and I leaned in pushing my lips against his. It was rough and I wasn't ready for it. I don't thi I even wanted too but I mean after a couple of seconds it was kinda nice. And then our lips started moving. It was a weird experience cause I couldn't tell if he was pushing me or I was still woozy.
And we were still kissin. And kissin some more and I felt his arms reach low on my back and pull the core of my body towards his. he was real warm. When I closed my eyes I felt like I was swayin so hard I coulda fell right on the ground. An we kept kissing an our chests pressed together.
And then I broke away. Not cause it was a bad kiss, cause I remember Two-Bit ramblin about a chick who he kissed and got all hanky panky with on the first date an he never called her again. I opened my eyes an he had a satisfied smile on his face and whispered in my ear,
"It's Charles." It gave me the shivers and I walked back towards the house, my mind weighed down with thoughts. An I guess that Curly Shepard was my first kiss. Lordy if only Darry knew.
But I mean I was glad I was ready for it, cause I was a teenager. Plus I had learned lots about kissin years before.
February 1963
"Hi," I said quietly to Ponyboy. He just finished puttin the trash out. I sat on the front steps wrapped up in one of Darry's old football sweatshirts. He sat next to me and we waited for the sun to set.
"I saw you tryin to talk to that Cherry girl," I tried to say it as nicely as possible. His face grew red. He took the cigarette our from behind his ear and struck a match on the steps. He took a long drag and passed it to me. His face was still red when he responded ,
"Girls are so confusin."
"you got that right. Guys can be just as bad!" I huffed, handing back the cancer stick
"You talkin bout Hector?" he smiled. It was my turn to get scarlet. He sat closer to me an wrapped his arms around my shoulders an shook me gently.
"Datin an stuff is just, it seems like scary, you savy?" I snatched the cigarette from his fingers.
"Yeah," he sighed, "I savy."
"Like just talkin to people an the words ain't commin out right!"
"I know. I end up just sayin nothin and gettin all embarrassed."
"Why do crushes have to exist," I buried my face into my hands. We were silent for a little while an I was glad he was close cause it was getting real cold.
"I hope I don't screw up on my first kiss," he said.
"Oh lord that would be embarrassing," I cringed, "imagine if you missed. Or it was all spitty."
"I thought it was supposed to be spitty."
"yeah but not like a fountain of saliva!"
"What if you burped!" Ponyboy laughed.
"What if you knocked foreheads!"
"how are you supposed to know which way to turn your head?" I asked. He shrugged and I didn't say anything more until he ground the cigarette butt into the concrete.
"I hope I'm a good kisser," Pony murmured shyly.
"me too, I'd want the guy to tell me if I was a real screw up."
He nodded in agreement. We directed our attention towards the sun that was just touching the horizon. It was a breathtaking kinda pretty.
"we should practice," I whispered.
"practice kissin?" He asked, cocking a eyebrow like Two-Bit does.
"Yeah so then we will be ready. An so we won't be like fountains."
"that's a good idea," Pony said slowly. Then he added to justify himself," And we're like the same person so it's just like practice."
I turned my body to face his. His grey green eyes looked at my eyes, then traveled down to my lips. I licked my lips and so did he. It moved slow but fast. And our lips landed. And then we broke apart. It was real brief. We didnt know how long it was supposed to last, since it was practice an all.
"it was a little wet," I commented.
"I think you missed," he said to me. And then we went in again, for longer this time.
"that wasnt as wet."
"you aimed better."
an now a third time and he tried something different. His lips pushed witha newfound drive. We started to move and he was going too fast I struggled to concentrate and keep up.
We broke apart an realized the sun had set. Our breathing was haggard. And I nodded at him and he nodded at me and smiled. I set my head on his shoulder.
"is that what making out is?" I asked.
"I don't think so. There's supposed to be more touching I think."
"and tongue right?"
"yeah. Ill ask Soda, he'll know."
"Are you two planning to catch your death out here, or are you coming inside?" Mom a smiled at us opened the screen door and beckoned us in.
"I found them Darryl!" She said to dad who was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper with his spectacles on.
"Where were they?"
"Having their sunset time," she called back.
"I'm tellin ya it's actually half the work havin twins cause if you find one the other will be there!"
The window was only cracked when I went back around the back of the house. It was at my neck level and real hard to push up. Ponyboy must've heard me cause he came an opened it.
"where've you been tonight?" He asked sticking his head out.
"Pony!" I smiled, " help me up and ill t-tell you all about my night!"
"Shhhh!" He said angrily," you don't want to wake Darry!" he extended his arm out the window and I grabbed on, trying to help myself up. I clambered through the window with an ugly enterance.
"Ponyobyy!" I said an excited whisper. I was still sitting on the cold ground with my skirt hiked high due to recent climbing. " I had so much fun tonight Ponyboy. We went to Mark's an we played games, I wish you were there."
"you went to Marks? I assume Darry don't know? And pull your skirt down!" He shielded his eyes.
"yeah I snuck out! through that very same window!" I said proudly. Getting up I walked over to my bed, kicking off my shoes.
"Are you drunk?" he asked from the other side of the room.
"you know what? I think I am!"
"Shhhh!" He warned," Darry will skin you if you wake him up. And you're drunk."
"hey atleast I didn't get caught," I giggled at him. He got red again an retorted,
"he wouldn'tve had a clue if Soda didnt go an make a big fuss about me getting sick."
"You spewed chunks all over the living room, nobody could've ignored that," I laughed.
"I guess I learned my lesson," he said sheepishly turning a bright crimson color.
"Do you have a cigarette?"
"c'mon you'll wake him up you know he hates smoking the in the house!"
"I don't give a damn!" I exclaimed holding out my hand. He gave me a hard look. I bet he didn't want to get in trouble neither. And maybe that's what I love bout Ponyboy. I don't know. It just feels good to have someone who really cares. Not like my other brothers. Pony an I were just different. Maybe that's why I cuddled up in his bed.
"Go to your own bed, America," he complained.
"I wish Sodapop didnt work so much so we could goof around more like old times," I sighed pulling the quilts closer. He didnt respond for a while but then he started tryin to push me out of his bed, tryin to roll me out actually.
"America come on!"
"An does he does is go out with Sandy. I mean, what's so special about her anyway?"
"You know what's to special about her," Ponyboy sighed, "she's real. Not like the other girls round here."
"But Two-Bit and Steve and Dally don't seem to mind girls that aren't like her. They're always talkin to them."
"It's just different, you know that."
"I dunno how anyone could date Soda anyway. He's always bouncin around and getting in arguments and fights just for kicks. I hope he puts spiders in her bed when she's tryin to sleep."
"I think he's trying to do something different with her bed," he snickered.
"Ponyboy Michael!" I giggled uncontrollably," you dirty boy!"
...did I make it too weird?