The sound of Dani's voicemail and a sharp beep greeted me when I called.
"I wanted to know if maybe you wanted to hangout this weekend? I got two tickets to the Cincinnati Opera for Saturday night. They are showing Carmen," I giggled, "Thought it would be fun. Well just um call me back. Alright, bye."
It was Christmas break at my school, we had two weeks off and I was determined to spend as much of that time with Dani as possible. Her school had two extra days off so they got out on Thursday instead of the end of Friday. It was Wednesday night so I was settling down in my bedroom to work on my geometry homework. Phyllis wouldn't be home until 10 o'clock so I went ahead and made a sandwich and brought it up to my bedroom. Mark was at cards until 11:00 so I was home alone.
I had just gotten my books out when I heard the doorbell ring. I glanced at my clock, it was only 7:00, and I wasn't expecting anyone. The doorbell rang again so I got out of my chair and shuffled down the steps. My barefeet slapped against the hardwood until I finally hit the front door mat, I reached down and yanked the door open. Dani stood on my doorstep with a bouquet of white roses and a beautiful smile plastered to her face. My jaw dropped when I saw her standing there, the cold December air was slapping the skin on my arms and feet.
"Shit… Come in, it's freezing out here."
Dani walked past me into the warm house, I slammed the door shut and turned around to stare at the gorgeous girl standing in the living room.
"What are you doing here?"
She thrust the white roses into my arms, "Hannah Marie Carmen, will you be my girlfriend?"
A nervous laugh pushed up my throat and I nodded my head furiously in agreement.
"So that's a yes?"
"Yes… Hell yes!" Dani smiled so brightly at me. We had been talking for almost six months now and I figured that I would be the one to ask her out. But here we were.
"Here, let me take your coat," I sat the roses down on the T.V. stand, Dani started to unzip her coat but I reached out and stopped her hands, "Let me."
"Okay," Dani let her hands fall to her sides as I slowly unzipped her coat and slipped it from her shoulders letting it drop to the floor. She had a beanie on the top of her head, I stepped closer to her, close enough to feel her breath against my neck. A darkness fell over her green eyes as she bit her lip and stared into mine. I ran my hands from her fingertips all the way up to where the beanie touched her forehead. I slipped my fingers under the beanie and pushed it back until it too fell onto the ground with her coat. My fingers trailed across her scalp and through her hair until I found the base of her neck, I used my thumbs to tilt her head up farther. Looking into her eyes for any kind of hesitation, but all I saw were her green eyes reflecting the same thing I felt. I leaned my head forward until my lips touched hers, they were soft and warm, and I felt a tingling in the pit of my stomach and a tightness in my chest. She met my kiss and put one hand on my waist and another on my back. Every kiss I had ever had before was nothing like this. I pulled back a little bit but Dani pulled me back in. We stood there like that for a minute more until we both pulled away.
A goofy smile was left on my face and I opened my eyes to see Dani smiling right back.
"That was nice," I offered.
"I can't stop smiling," I brushed a strand of blonde hair from her face, "You're my… Girlfriend."
"I did say yes," I laughed.
"So…"
"So…"
Dani pressed her lips against mine again, I returned her kiss. She ran her tongue over my bottom lip, trying to find access, but I took my teeth and bit her bottom lip instead. She whimpered quietly against my mouth, I returned to the kiss and pulled her to me tighter.
"Want to go to my room?"
"We only just started dating."
"Not what I meant, I have to work on my geometry. We could listen to some music or you could watch T.V. till I'm done?"
"Hannah, if you have homework I can just head home. I would hate to be a bother," Dani began to lean over to grab her coat. I put my hands on her hips to stop her movements, she stiffened and I could see a blush coming over her cheeks. My touch was doing this to her, making her lose her cool just like she had made me do so many times before.
"No, stay. Seriously. Just watch T.V. while I finish up my problems. Okay?"
Dani nodded, before she could change her mind I moved my shoulder down to her waist and in one fluid motion had her slung over my shoulder. She squealed into my t-shirt and lightly beat her fists against my back, but I knew she didn't mind this. I slapped her left butt cheek as we climbed the steps, causing her to squeal louder than before. My door was open, so I just threw her down onto my bed before plopping down into my computer chair.
"You aren't much of a romantic Hannah," Dani laid on her stomach and rested her hands against her palms.
"I am a hopeless romantic, but I have work to do so I am able to see you and do romantic things for you," I said as I began my first set of problems.
"I could do that for you…"
"No, I much rather have you lying in my bed looking cute."
"You think I'm cute?"
"I think you're the cutest thing to ever walk this earth, babe." I blew her a kiss.
"That was a real panty dropping line there Hannah."
"We can wait for the pantie dropping hun. I'm still not ready."
I switched on my computer and plugged in my surround sound. Pulling up Spotify I scrolled through my array of playlists, trying to find the right one.
"Do you like showtunes?"
"Love."
I scrolled down to the bottom of my broadway playlist and turned on some Phantom. The overture started playing at full blast, I glanced over to Dani. She was kicking her feet back and forth watching me intently, but I knew the overture would not do. Still scrolling down through my Phantom songs until I found what I was looking for.
The overture started to play again, but instead of playing out it ran right into a guitar solo until Emmy Rossum started singing. Dani was singing along, blasting out lyrics and noted I could never hit in my low alto range. A few more songs played before I finished up my last problem set.
"Done," I stuffed my textbook back into my backpack and walked over to the bed to grab Dani's hand. I reached over and hit pause on my music.
"Why'd you stop the music."
"The delay will end momentarily," I pulled her up off the bed.
"What are you doing." She looked at me with curious eyes.
In return I gave a mischievous smile. "Dance with me?"
"I thought Hannah Carmen didn't dance?"
"Things change," I slid my hand around her side towards the small of her back and kept our entangled hands close to my chest. Dani put her free hand on my shoulder as I pulled her body closer to mine. We swayed turning slowly in a circle. I could feel my heart beating in my throat as I held Dani to my chest, she rested her head against my heart.
"Your heart beat is always so erratic when I touch you," Dani whispered.
"You do have that effect on me." I buried my nose in her hair, breathing her in.
It felt like we stayed like that for hours, it had only been ten minutes in reality, but it felt like hours to me. Dani lifted her head from my chest, staring into my partly closed eyes, she tilted her head to the side to place her lips on mine. I kissed back, moving my free hand in between her shoulder blades and letting go of her hand to place it under her chin. The kiss became more urgent, both of us pushing harder against each other, craving the contact. I lifted her off the ground and in return she wrapped her legs around my waist, still pulling herself closer to me. I walked backward until I felt the backs of my knees hit my bed, gently I lowered myself down until Dani was lying on top of me. She ran her tongue over my bottom lip again, trying to find access and I granted it to her. Her tongue filled my mouth, exploring. This kept up for another 20 minutes, until we both had slowed down to light kissing again.
"Mmmm," Dani pulled away from me, "You're glasses are so fogged up." Dani giggled as she lifted the glasses from my face, leaving feathered kisses on my eyelids. "Open your eyes."
"Fine." I opened up my eyes. "My mouth tastes like strawberry bubblegum." I tasted my lips and the shallower part of my mouth.
"Sorry, that's my lip gloss," Dani sounded embarrassed.
"Don't be embarrassed, I really like it," I said as I leaned up to get another taste. Her lips were unbelievably soft. "I've never been kissed like this in my life."
"Is that a good thing?" Dani blushed.
"The best," I smirked. "You're cute when you blush." I kissed her cheek.
"I wish we could stay like this forever," Dani said as she leaned her head back onto my chest. She was still straddling me but I was sitting up now.
"Me too hun."
00000
Piper walked next to me as we headed to Healy's office, her presence took off some of the pressure. Alex had gone to work in the yard so it was just the two of us. Healy liked Piper, but Healy wasn't my biggest fan and in all honesty I was nowhere near his either. He was a giant homophobe and it irritated me to think that he believed that we were all evil doers. I was a drug importer, I never actually sold anyone heroine, sure I sold pot as a young teenager but that was pot.
"Are you nervous," Piper broke the silence.
"Beyond actually."
We reached his office, his door slightly cracked, but open far enough for us to see him sitting at his desk reading a book. Piper knocked on the door as she walked in.
"Hello Mr. Healy," Piper's voice changed, it had a very sardonic tone to it.
"Hi Piper," he hesitated when he saw me come in behind her, "Carmen."
"Mr. Healy."
"So what do you ladies need?" Mr. Healy placed a bookmark into his book and sat it down onto his neat desk.
"May we sit?" Piper asked.
"Please." Healy motioned towards the two chairs in front of his desk.
"Hannah, has a dilemma and as her friend I thought that I should bring her to you for help."
"Well my job here is to help as much as I possibly can," Healy cracked his knuckles and leaned forward in his chair, "So what seems to be the issue here?"
"Well, you see my aunt Phyllis went in for back surgery eight days ago. She was put under anesthesia and hasn't woken up and she isn't breathing on her own.."
"What is it you're asking?"
"I was wondering if you might push me through for furlough?" I played
around with my thumbs while I talked to Healy.
"Well I will fill out the paperwork and see what I can do, but I make no promises." Healy pulled a form out of his desk and sat it down so I could reach it. "Sign your name at the bottom and I will fill the rest out."
"Thank you so much Mr. Healy," I gave him a nod of appreciation.
"Okay, now run along and stay out of trouble."
Piper and I stood up from the chairs and walked out of Healy's office. The meeting had gone much shorter than I thought it would, but I wasn't sure if I should feel relief or anxiety.
00000
The cool autumn air blew my bangs everywhere, getting stuck behind my glasses and slapping at my forehead. I loved fall, it was my favorite season of the year. It meant sweatshirts and jeans, pumpkin patches with Dani and the taste of piping hot apple cider. I was a senior in high school now, finally one of the big fish in the pond. Dani had graduated from Harrison High School and had started to attend college at the University of Cincinnati. That was a 10 minute walk from Phyllis's house and I took that walk quite a bit. Dani did have two other roommates so we didn't get too much alone time when I was over, but I still got to see her.
Phyllis and Mark were back to working almost all day and night on weekends so Dani and I were able to be alone there. I had gotten a job so I had money to take her out for dates and I had my license now so we didn't walk or take a bus everywhere. My car was an Oldsmobile 442, painted black with a white pinstripe on the driver's side. It was my grandpas car from when he was in his early 20's, we restored it and repainted it. The old girl looked brand new and Dani loved it. I worked down at Findlay market in the butchery. My job was to carry heavy packs of meat to the butcher and then repeat. It was an easy job, easy money.
I was putting a quarter of my paycheck into a savings account, this would be the money I would give to Phyllis before I moved out. She wouldn't take it now, but I would continue to save until the very day I left her house at the end of this summer. I had already applied to U.C. and was more than likely to get in on a half scholarship with my good grades and drama club credits. Everything was looking up.
Back to the cool autumn day now. Eddie had dragged me to a football game at U.C. since I hadn't hung out with him a ton lately. He too went to U.C. but all my extra time was devoted to Dani and he respected that, but I still did need to see him.
I pulled my leather jacket closer to my body as Eddie and I walked against the wind towards the other side of the football stadium.
"Shit, the wind is making it chilly here," Eddie said through chattering teeth.
"Want my jacket?"
"Nah, wanna head back to my dorm?"
"That sounds fucking great," I said while huddling closer to Eddie, "Is Kole gonna be there?"
"Yeah, he just got dumped by Cindy so he's been hotboxing in our room. He's getting high off his own supply."
Kole was one of mine and Eddie's closest friends, we considered him to be a family member. We met him at GameStop a few years back and had been hanging out ever since. It was no secret that Kole sold pot to the local kids. He made quite a profit off of it, but he had the tendency to smoke some of his hash.
"Sweet. I mean to him being there not to Cindy dumping him," I took a second, "But Cindy was a bitch anyway."
"Yeah, I never liked her. Plus she was a screamer and that shit kept me up at night."
"Kole screwed her in your room?"
"They had sex in the bathroom when she came over, nothing new."
Eddie and I walked back to his dorm room, he and Kole had a one bedroom with a kitchen and living room. They had bunk beds in the bedroom, and that was the only thing you could make out that wasn't covered in dirty socks or mountains of clothes. The living room and kitchen were always clean though. When we got into the dorm hallway the smell of pot hit us in the face like a ton of bricks. Eddie stuck the key into the door and swung the door open, a cloud of thick smoke was let into the hallway. He grabbed my arm and threw me in the room before someone saw us go in.
"Shit Kole, crack a window," I said as I waved my hand in front of my face.
"Hannah!" Kole emerged from a hazy kind of sleep and ran up to me to wrap his lengthy arms around my shoulders. "Hey lesbian best friend."
I couldn't help but laugh at his greeting, he was totally stoned and I was loving it. Eddie turned on the fan so it sucked the smoke to the outside and lit a few candles. Koles arms were still wrapped around me. After a half hour the smoke had cleared and the smell had been neutralized, but Kole was still higher than a kite.
Eddie lit a joint and started smoking it, he didn't offer it to me because he knew I didn't smoke. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bag of doritos, two beers, and a root beer. He handed me the root beer and handed Kole one of the beers.
"So you haven't been over in literally two months, what's going on with you?" Eddie asked as he took the cap off his and Koles beers with his bottle opener ring. I had bought him that for Christmas last year.
"Nothing much really," I took a swig of my drink.
Kole spoke up, "So have you and blonde hooked up yet?" I knew his question would come up eventually.
"No, I'm still nervous about it. I really care about her you guys." I sat my drink down on the table and pulled my legs up to my chest on the couch.
"There's no need to speed anything up or do something you don't wanna do Hannah," Eddie said. He sat next to me on the couch, patting me on the shoulder.
"Yeah, I mean she's been with you this long now. She must respect your feelings," Kole said as he put the beer to his lips.
"I guess you guys are right, plus I want it to be special ya know?"
"As long as you love each other it'll be special, don't get me wrong though. It's gonna be awkward as hell and you're gonna get nervous but don't let those nerves get in the way." Eddie finished his sentence then took another hit from the joint.
We talked more about Dani and I and then switched over to play some video games. Eddie got halfway through a game of Madden when he slumped over and passed out. Kole had sobered up a little bit and helped me carry Eddie off to bed.
"So I have a question for you," I said to Kole as we sat back down on the couch.
"What's that?" He grabbed a handful of doritos and crunched.
"So I was wondering if you could hook me up with your boss?"
"Like the guy I deal for?"
"Yeah," I had to think of his boss's name, "Marcus?"
"I mean sure, but are you sure you want to sell pot?"
"I need the money, Findlay pays nice but I need more."
"Alright sure." Kole grabbed his phone off the coffee table and played around on his phone trying to find Marcus's number. He sent me his number when he finally found it.
"Just give him a call and say Kole sent you."
"Thanks brother."