Part 3: Two Hearts
Aura Thundera deonii@yahoo.com
"Oh," Cabe stammered. "That. Mary Callahan was spying on us."
"That doesn't explain why you were kissing Keith like that," Tara said with a frown.
"It was a prank. Keith just put his arms around me and his face up real close to mine, so that it looked like we were kissing. It was my idea anyway. It'll give Mary something to think about." Cabe said.
"From what you've said of Mary, was that a good idea? You said that she was a bad gossip."
"Maybe not. But it'll be interesting conversation tomorrow."
The next morning, Mary met Cabe in the algebra classroom. Keith hadn't arrived yet, and Cabe was burning to see him again. Mary watched Cabe's fidgets with a smug grin.
"So, how was your big date with Keith Partridge?" Mary asked.
"His freak of a little brother soaked me with a water balloon, and I had to wear his sister's old clothing until mine was dry," Cabe replied, attempting not to smirk as she deftly avoided Mary's real question.
"What else did you do? Is he a good kisser?"
"Since when is that your business?"
"You were smooching Keith Partridge on the sidewalk in front of my house!" Mary yelled to the room in general. "I couldn't miss it!"
"So Cabe was right," Keith's voice said. He was standing next to Cabe in his usual school clothes, looking as cute as ever. "You were watching for us to come back from our date. I guess we got you good when we faked that kiss."
Mary looked shellshocked. "You were faking that kiss?"
"Absolutely. That was what you were watching for, and we gave it to you." Cabe said. Keith was grinning, showing off his dimples.
At lunch, Keith settled happily next to Cabe. He just looked at her out of his big hazel eyes, driving her insane. It felt like he was melting her heart with those eyes.
"Did you understand the algebra this morning?" Keith asked. "I didn't get it."
"Why don't you come over to my house this afternoon, and I can go over it with you?" Cabe said, hardly daring to believe that he might accept.
Keith sighed, and Cabe's heart sank. "We practice right after school, Cabe. I wish I could. You could come over to my house, though, hear us practice, and then we can work on the algebra."
"Oh, I'd love to hear you practice with your family! Just give me a few minutes to go home and get changed, and I'll knock on the door."
That afternoon, Cabe ran home to put on jeans and a pretty top before running down the street to the yellow house. The mere sight of Keith's home made Cabe's heart beat faster. When she knocked, it was Keith who opened the door. Keith had on a beat-up sweatshirt and ripped jeans, but to Cabe it was the sexiest outfit she'd seen on him yet. The cut-off sleeves revealed Keith's slender but strong arms.
"Come on, everyone else is out in the garage," Keith said, "This way." Keith gently led her out the back door and into the small garage.
In Cabe's opinion, the garage rehearsal went by entirely too quickly. Keith and Laurie laughed and joked with Cabe in between songs, while Danny tried hard to pretend that he was NOT looking at her.
Later, in the kitchen, Cabe thought about a question that had arisen in her brain during the rehearsal. She wasn't sure if it would offend Keith or not, so she waited until they had unpacked and prepared all of the notebooks, pens and miscellaneous algebra paraphenalia.
"Does Danny always stare at the breasts of any girl you bring home?" Cabe asked, before flushing bright red.
Keith laughed. "Danny stares at any girl's breasts, period. In a few years, that boy is going to like girls even more than I do. He'll have a new one every week."
"Like you don't." Cabe said.
"Well..." Keith said. "Just because I haven't met the right one. Danny, the right one for his heart could probably sail right by under his nose and he'd give her thrity seconds of attention unless she had money."
Cabe helped Keith struggle through the day's selection of polynomials to factor. "Thanks for the help, Cabe," Keith said. "I'm glad that you could come over and help me."
"I guess I should be going home now," Cabe said, gathering up her books.
"Why?" Keith asked. "You've got nothing to do, I've got nothing to do. Why don't you stay here with me for a bit at least? I can show you around San Pueblo."
"Because I'm going home again, Keith. My grandmother is letting me live with her so I can spend my senior year with my friends and then go to Penn State."
"What does that have to do with your staying with me for a bit?"
"I'm leaving San Pueblo, Keith. And I..." Cabe choked briefly and turned away from Keith.
"What, Cabe? You what?"
"I'm falling in love with you, Keith!" Cabe burst out. "I can't get close to you--I'm not staying here!"
"You've got some time though before you go home, right? Why not make the best of it? Be my friend. We can still write letters even when you go back to Pennsylvania."
"Because I don't want to have to deal with leaving behind a boy that I love!"
"You love me?" Keith asked softly. His hazel eyes sparkled, the green flecks catching the light.
"Yes," Cabe sobbed out as Keith put his arms around her.
Keith leaned in and covered Cabe's lips with his in a gentle kiss. Cabe gave up her objections instantly. All that mattered to her was Keith's warm lips on hers.
"Keith, is something wrong? I heard yelling--" Shirley entered the kitchen to find her son kissing Cabe like there was no tomorrow. "Keith Partridge, get off that poor girl!" Shirley bellowed, startling both Keith and Cabe.
Both of the culprits turned bright red after being caught in the act. Shirley had to stifle a laugh at the total embarassment on the two teenage love-birds' faces.
"Why don't you two take that somewhere where Danny and the other kids aren't going to walk in on you?" Shirley said. "Now, scram, you two. I have to make dinner."
"We're gone," Cabe said, dragging Keith out the door. In the backyard, Keith flopped onto the grass and pulled Cabe down next to him. Cabe laid her head on Keith's shoulder and enjoyed being cuddled up against him.
"I've always dreamed of studying art at Penn State," Cabe said sadly into Keith's shoulder. "But now I don't want to leave you."
"You could stay here and go to San Pueblo University with me," Keith said. "Just stay here. You'll like San Pueblo if you give it a chance."
"I already applied to Penn State earlier this year, though. I didn't know that this was going to happen!"
"Change your plans," Keith said. "Stay here with me. I really want to get to know you. Besides, do you really want to leave your parents behind?"
"Keith, please don't make this any more difficult for me. I want to go home and have my dreams come true, and you're throwing a wrench in the works."
"Don't you have dreams for a husband or at least a boyfriend somewhere in there?"
"Yes, but you're making that dream conflict with my dream of a career as a professional artist!"
"So? Wouldn't you rather have a boyfriend to love?"
"Hey, Mister Ego!" Cabe said, pinching Keith's arm, which had gotten draped around her. "I've had other boyfriends, and I can get another one back at Penn State. Though I will say that you are the cutest boy I've had take an interest in me."
"So I'm cute, am I?" Keith said, with a wicked grin. He grabbed Cabe and began to tickle her. Through her laughter, Cabe managed to escape from Keith's clutches and bolt down the driveway to the sidewalk. Keith followed close on Cabe's heels, ready to resume his tickle attack.
Mary Callahan's eyes went wide in shock as she saw Cabe run past, laughing hysterically. Mary stepped down off the porch in time to see Keith Partridge hot on Cabe's heels. Cabe darted into the garage of her house and climbed easily up a hidden ladder to a small storage loft in the rafters.
Keith followed Cabe into the garage and began looking around behind the stacks of boxes for her. Cabe stifled a giggle as she knocked some wood shavings off the plywood floor of the loft and they landed in Keith's long dark hair.
"Come on, Cabe! Where are you?" Keith yelled, looking everywhere but up.
Cabe dropped another woodchip onto Keith's head. This time, she didn't stifle her giggle.
"Ow!" Keith yelled, as the splintery chip caught his neck and left a bloody scrape. "Hey!" This time he backed up, and spotted Cabe in the rafters.
"Hello Keith. You can't get me, and I'm not coming down until you promise not to tickle me," Cabe said.
"How about you tell me how to get up there and we finish what we started in the kitchen?" Keith asked. He was pouting, and Cabe wanted to kiss that stuck-out lip. He looked delectable--after his rehearsal, he had shed the ripped sweatshirt for a soft cotton shirt that buttoned up the front.
"All right. The ladder is back by the table in the corner."
Keith bounded easily up the ladder and joined Cabe on the splintery plywood floor. Cabe looked at the scrape that her woodchip had left on the peaches-and-cream skin of Keith's neck. Shyly, Cabe brushed away Keith's ruddy-brown hair and kissed the wound.
Keith pulled Cabe's face up and met her lips with his. This time, Cabe managed to kiss him back. She wound her arms around him, caressing his shoulders and sliding her fingers into his silky hair. Keith rubbed her back with his long, strong fingers.
Eventually, the need for air forced Keith and Cabe to break the kiss. Cabe drew back, embarassed to realize that she had pulled Keith's shirt off his shounders, and even more of Keith's soft skin was showing. Keith pulled her close and held Cabe tightly to his half-bare chest.
"Don't leave me," Keith whispered in her ear.
"Keith..." Cabe said. "I think I heard a floorboard in the house squeak."
"So?" Keith nuzzled into her hair and began nibbling her neck. His shaggy mane brushed delightfully against her.
"So someone's coming."
"Your mother is just making dinner, that's all. Now, where were we?" Keith's hand slipped under Cabe's unbuttoned blouse and wandered over Cabe's lacy bra. Involuntarily, Cabe responded to his touch, pushing her body into his strong caress.
"Keith, our pantry is out here!" Cabe gasped out.
"Damn!" Keith said, springing away from Cabe.
The door to the kitchen opened and Tara emerged. The rumpled, half-open state of Keith and Cabe's clothes left no doubt as to their activities before her advent on the scene.
"Cabe and Keith, what have you been doing up there?!"
Tara yelled.