Part 5: Dreams to Follow
Aura Thundera
deonii@yahoo.com
Cabe found Keith stretched out on the couch, watching television. His hair was fanned out on a pillow and his shirtfront was unsnapped. Cabe had never seen Keith look sexier, despite the fact that he was still pale from his cold.
"Hey, Cabe!" Keith held his arms out to her, and then dropped them when Cabe shook her head. "Sorry. Forgot that I might still be contagious."
"Don't tempt me, Keith. How are you feeling?"
"Better. I'll be in school tomorrow," Keith's voice was mildly raspy, but much better. He was nearly back to his old self, with the velvet voice that sent shivers up Cabe's spine when he held her tight and whispered endearments into her ear. The image of losing Keith flooded back to her, and Cabe knew that she couldn't let it go that far, or she would never be able to leave San Pueblo.
"I'm glad you're feeling better," Cabe said. "I had best be going now. I'll be seeing you tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to the weekend."
"No, Cabe! Wait!" Keith cried, as she turned back toward the door.
"I...I've got to go, Keith!" Cabe said, her voice quavering with the turmoil of her emotions. She had to leave, and there was Keith Partridge--sweet, gorgeous, everything a girl could want from a boyfriend--standing in her way. He was there, every way that she turned, standing in San Pueblo and begging her not to leave to follow her dreams. She turned her back on Keith and ran for the door, startling Shirley.
Cabe ran down the sidewalk, tears pricking her eyes and blurring her sight. She would probably never see Keith Partridge face to face again after she left San Pueblo. Sure, she would probably see him on the television from time to time as he and his family promoted their albums and tours, but she would never feel his arms around her again. She would never hear him beg her to stay by his side, which would surely become a coveted place as his star rose.
Keith dashed after her, as far as the door. He stood there, tears welling up in his own eyes, as he watched Cabe run away from him.
The next day, Keith plopped into the seat next to Cabe at lunch. "Why did you run away last night? All I wanted to do was talk to you for a bit. I missed you, you know."
Cabe felt her tears return. "Because I love you, Keith. You're just making it harder for me to leave when the time comes next week."
"Then don't leave," Keith said, in the husky, velvety voice that drove Cabe insane.
"Keith, please, don't make this harder than it has to be," Cabe said, wishing that she'd never left Pennsylvania, because now she didn't want to leave San Pueblo. Correction, Cabe thought. Because I don't want to leave Keith Partridge!
"All right then, what do you want from me?" Keith asked "You say that you're going home, and then you ask me out! What is it that you want? Do you want home, or do you want me? Do you want for us to break up so you can leave with a free conscience?"
"Not until I leave, Keith," Cabe said, then she put her face in her hands, lunch forgotten. "Oh, Keith, I don't know what I want! I want to go home and live out my dreams, and I want to stay here in San Pueblo with you and live out a whole other set of dreams that I've built now!"
Keith gave her a wobbly smile through the tears that were forming in his eyes. "Then I will love you, Cabe, for as long as I can. And I'll show it to you in every way I can." His voice trembled with unshed tears.
"Thank you, Keith, for understanding."
"Come over tonight," Keith said. "I just want to spend some time with you while I still can."
"How about I meet you at the end of the day and we can walk home together?" Cabe asked. "We can stop off at my house so that I can get a pair of jeans on and drop off my homework. You can have a drink, and then we can go to yours."
"Good idea," Keith replied. "I'll meet you at the main entrance as soon as school is over for the day."
At the end of the day, Cabe went out the main door. Keith was there, waiting for her. The afternoon sunlight caught his eyes and made them glitter like emeralds, and a small breeze played in his hair. Keith held out his hand to Cabe and she took it. Hand in hand, they walked slowly toward Sycamore Lane.
Halfway to Cabe's house, Keith pulled Cabe against his body. Cabe willingly met his kiss. Only the need to breathe forced them apart.
The warm November sun beat down on the young pair, who stood silently in each other's arms, willing time to stand still. Cabe forced the sadness down deep inside and simply enjoyed being near Keith and being in a place where November was still warm, rather than frigid and snowy.
"Promise me that you'll write to me," Keith said, "Come back to San Pueblo for Christmas, spring break, summer..."
"Keith, we'll be miserable like that, trying to carry on a love across three thousand miles! You can't hold me when I'm sad, and I can't hear you laugh when you're happy. All we'll have is photos and memories and pieces of paper that we've written on and that have passed through the hands of God knows how many postal workers."
"I don't care! As long as you aren't in San Pueblo, I'll be miserable, so what do I care?"
"What happened to the Keith who never goes steady with a girl for more than a month that Mary told me about that you're pledging your undying love to me?"
"That Keith Partridge is dead. You make me feel special, like no other girl ever did." He pulled Cabe close again and kissed her. And for the first time, Keith's tongue slipped into Cabe's mouth. Always before, he had restrained himself to lightly sucking her lips. Cabe parted her lips and let him brush his tongue gently against hers.
"Come on," Cabe said, breaking the kiss. "Mom will be worried about me if we linger around too much longer."
"We wouldn't want that, now would we?" Keith asked, teasingly.
The duo continued on their way, stopping at Cabe's house and then spending a companionable afternoon at Keith's house, helping him compose a song lyric. After dinner, they spent a pleasant evening at Cabe's house, cuddling in the broad windowseat and basking in the warmth from the fire that Cabe's father had built in the fireplace. Outside, the sun sank down, sending fiery colors across the sky.
"I'm looking forward to Saturday," Cabe said, as Keith was getting ready to leave. "Mom said that I could travel along with you on one condition--that I have to sleep in your sisters' room rather than in yours."
"Oh goody, I get Ruben and Chris and Danny for company and you get Mom and Laurie and Tracy." Keith said, stroking her face. "Won't you be a tiny bit lonely?"
"Not with four other people in the room!"
"Are you sure? I'm going to be right on the other side of the wall," Keith said, his voice smoky and seductive. "I'm sure that Danny would switch with you, because I know I'll be lonely. I'm sure he doesn't want to hear me moan your name all night."
"That's tough for Danny," Cabe said, with a catch in her throat as Keith's lips nibbled her neck.
"Mmm, but what about me? Wouldn't you rather have a night of this?" Keith said, kissing and nibbling at her neck when he wasn't speaking. Between his nipping lips and the soft caress of his warm breath on her skin, Cabe was nearly dizzy with pleasure.
"I'd love it, Keith, but I don't want to be saddled with a baby yet," Cabe said. "I don't want Dad going after you with a shotgun."
"All right," Keith said, slightly dejected. "I suppose that I'm not ready to start a family either."
"Good. See you tomorrow, Keith."
"Tomorrow." He gave Cabe a goodnight kiss on
the cheek before setting out for home.