Chapter Twelve:
"You sure you can't stay?" Cary asked me as we walked down the steps.
I smiled wanly and shook my head. "I don't want to risk mom finding out I didn't spend the night at Mary Anne and Dawn's." "You're right." Cary replied as we reached the end of his driveway.
"What about you? Doing anything special today?" I asked him.
Cary shrugged. "Alan wants me to hang out with him at the mall."
I rolled my eyes. "Sometimes I don't see how you two can be friends-and I say that in the most positive sense there is."
"Uh-huh. Sure." Cary said. "You shouldn't do sarcasm, Kristy-it's not becoming of you."
I was about to reply but instead kissed him. He hung back for only a second before joining me. Somebody rode by on a bike and crashed into the garbage cans that stood on the sidewalks. Cary and I broke away just in time to see some kid struggling to get his balance as he pedaled away, obviously embarrassed to have seen us. Sigh, some people are just so immature.
"Punk." Cary muttered as he walked over to the garbage cans, all the contents that had been inside lay scattered around the ground now.
"Do you need help?" I asked.
"No," he said quickly. "It's all right. No telling what the neighbors would think if they saw us picking up garbage together."
I laughed. "I don't think they'd need much mental prodding-I don't think that much noise goes on even when Ben and Stieg are home."
Cary's cheeks turned a bright red and I was satisfied to have made him blush at least once.
"Are you sure?" I asked once more.
"No. I'm fine." Cary said with a smile.
"All right. I'll talk to you later." I told him, kissing him once again before I headed home. As I walked, I inhaled deeply. It had rained during the night and the air smelled fresh and new. The sun had rose and mom and Watson would probably be rushing to get to work by now. That would mean they wouldn't have time to ask too many questions. I'd just tell them that Mr. Spier dropped me off. After I had walked a block I felt my cheeks grow warm and a soft laugh escaped me. I had become a woman last night and all I could think of was what I would tell my mom when I got into the house. I don't know how to describe what I felt. Light, happy, unsure...all those things. My finger examined the ring that I was wearing around my neck on a chain. It was silver with a baroque ruby nestled the mouth of an eagle. By the time I reached my house I had memorized every groove and hurried to hide it under my blouse just as mom hurried out of the house.
"Hello, Kristy!" she greeted, surprised. "Did they drop you off already?"
"Yes." I replied. "Just a few minutes ago-I had to go check something at Shannon's house."
Mom nodded and sighed. "Well, today's going to be a nightmare. I'm stuck at work all day and all the kids have their summer classes."
"Just tell me what needs to be done." I cut in, knowing full well what she wanted of me. It didn't bother me that I'd be busy today. At the moment, nothing bothered me.
Mom laughed, relieved. "Kristy, you're a doll. Charlie promised he'd drop them all and then pick up Andrew at his drawing class. Could you pick up David Michael at Little League and Karen at tap dancing?"
I nodded and she thanked me about a thousand times before rushing off. I was on cloud nine as I made my way into the house, pass my brothers, up the stairs and then jumped onto my bed and stared at the ceiling thinking about Cary. I couldn't think of anything else.
Cary sighed and nodded numbly as Alan jabbered on about Robin William's special on HBO the previous night.
"Man, I can't BELIEVE you missed it!" He exclaimed, shaking his head. "The guy is a genius and you can't even fit it into your schedule to catch his shows."
"I was a little busy." Cary replied, hiding a secretive smile.
"Why?" Alan asked slyly. "You get lucky watching the History Channel. Don't feel bad, I hear that's how all Don Juan's get their girls hot."
"How did you get so perverse, Alan?" Cary inquired as they headed into the Cheapo Music store. Despite it's name, Cheapo was only cheap when it came to the used CDs. If it was a new release, it was twenty bucks and up. Cary couldn't find it in his heart to tell his friend that he was being ripped off.
"I didn't spend all my time with the geeks." Alan teased. "Don't get me wrong-I'll bet Merrie Dow can be a pretty hot number if she ditched the Mary Anne Spier braids and the coke bottle glasses."
"Merrie's just a friend." Cary objected, then without thinking, added, "Kristy's the real thing."
It took a while for Cary to realize that Alan hadn't said anything and looked up. Alan was staring at him strangely. It was hard to tell whether he was furious or trying to suppress hysterics.
"Kristy?" Alan whispered, then burst out laughing. "Kristy?! Are you SERIOUS?!"
Cary bit his bottom lip and frowned, he hadn't even realized that he'd spoken. "Yes, I am being serious."
Alan took his time in calming down and then eyed Cary in a way he didn't like. "I don't think so. Kristy's good for a ride, especially if you can't afford Disney Land-but if you want a real woman, you're better off with Claudia. But I won't say it's easier to get Kristy into bed than Claud."
With that, Alan walked out, waving dismally at the CDs. "I'm bored, let's blow out of here."
"What the hell did you mean by that?" Cary asked as he followed Alan out of the store.
"I meant that those CDs in there are rip offs- " Alan began.
"NO! I meant about Kristy!" Cary declared hotly. "You made her sound like some kind of whore or something!"
"I didn't mean anything like that." Alan declared. "It's not like she walks the street down by the truck stops or anything. But, come on, surely you've heard of her reputation."
Reputation? Cary had learned a lot about Kristy the past summer, but all of those things had been positive. The only reputation she had around these parts was baby-sitting. He mentioned this to Alan and all he did was laugh.
"Sure, but what do you really think she does on those sitting jobs?" Alan asked as they headed down the escalator. "I'm not saying anything. But the tricks she's pulled at school certainly make you think of what-or who- she does in her free time."
Cary's head spun and for one mad instant he felt like punching Alan's face in. He maintained his composure long enough to ask a question that he really felt should have been left alone. "She's had other boyfriends before?" He asked curiously.
Alan scoffed. "Sure. I should know. I was one of them-I never slept with her or anything if that's what you're wondering. But, I'll tell you, she sure knew how to make a guy beg."
Cary laughed unbelievingly. "That does NOT sound like Kristy."
"You mean she wasn't driving you crazy last night?" Alan asked, to which Cary glanced up a little too quickly. "Aha. I knew it. I don't blame you for screwing her. A lot of guys can't help themselves."
Alan paused and leaned against the wall. "Let's see...after me there was Logan. Don't look at me like that, Cary, I kid you not. It didn't last long because he started seeing Mary Anne-but they do occasionally get together to play football-a fact, use it as you wish.
"Then there was the time when she and Mr. Fiske were dancing at the Spring Fling in middle school. It might not have been anything, but mind you, they disappeared for an hour afterwards.
"She had fun with this boy Bart Taylor for a little while, but even a spoiled rich boy can't satisfy her appetites. That's why she couldn't resist herself when SMS went on that trip to Europe. She and this dude, Michel DuMoulin, were all over each other the entire trip. He even went up to her room on the farewell party-a"
Alan might have gone on and on forever about Kristy's 'history' but Cary didn't give him a chance. Without realizing, he had balled his hand into a fist and knocked Alan across the jaw so forcefully that he stumbled. Without saying good-bye, Cary stomped away while Alan yelled a few obscenities about his choice of women at his cold back. As he headed out of the mall, Cary clenched his hair in his fists. All those things that Alan said couldn't be true, right?
Kristy....HIS Kristy wouldn't do any of those things. As far as he knew, she was fairly innocent and certainly as inexperienced as he was...that's part of what had made last night so comfortable. And Cary had known nothing about Kristy's ex-Bart Taylor. Why hadn't she told him? If it was truly over, what was the big deal about telling him? Cary shook his head as he headed home. He'd talk to Kristy about it. She'd settle all this bull-crap. Meanwhile, he started to analyze his friendship with Alan and decided that Kristy was right: now he didn't know how he could be friends with him either.
"You sure you can't stay?" Cary asked me as we walked down the steps.
I smiled wanly and shook my head. "I don't want to risk mom finding out I didn't spend the night at Mary Anne and Dawn's." "You're right." Cary replied as we reached the end of his driveway.
"What about you? Doing anything special today?" I asked him.
Cary shrugged. "Alan wants me to hang out with him at the mall."
I rolled my eyes. "Sometimes I don't see how you two can be friends-and I say that in the most positive sense there is."
"Uh-huh. Sure." Cary said. "You shouldn't do sarcasm, Kristy-it's not becoming of you."
I was about to reply but instead kissed him. He hung back for only a second before joining me. Somebody rode by on a bike and crashed into the garbage cans that stood on the sidewalks. Cary and I broke away just in time to see some kid struggling to get his balance as he pedaled away, obviously embarrassed to have seen us. Sigh, some people are just so immature.
"Punk." Cary muttered as he walked over to the garbage cans, all the contents that had been inside lay scattered around the ground now.
"Do you need help?" I asked.
"No," he said quickly. "It's all right. No telling what the neighbors would think if they saw us picking up garbage together."
I laughed. "I don't think they'd need much mental prodding-I don't think that much noise goes on even when Ben and Stieg are home."
Cary's cheeks turned a bright red and I was satisfied to have made him blush at least once.
"Are you sure?" I asked once more.
"No. I'm fine." Cary said with a smile.
"All right. I'll talk to you later." I told him, kissing him once again before I headed home. As I walked, I inhaled deeply. It had rained during the night and the air smelled fresh and new. The sun had rose and mom and Watson would probably be rushing to get to work by now. That would mean they wouldn't have time to ask too many questions. I'd just tell them that Mr. Spier dropped me off. After I had walked a block I felt my cheeks grow warm and a soft laugh escaped me. I had become a woman last night and all I could think of was what I would tell my mom when I got into the house. I don't know how to describe what I felt. Light, happy, unsure...all those things. My finger examined the ring that I was wearing around my neck on a chain. It was silver with a baroque ruby nestled the mouth of an eagle. By the time I reached my house I had memorized every groove and hurried to hide it under my blouse just as mom hurried out of the house.
"Hello, Kristy!" she greeted, surprised. "Did they drop you off already?"
"Yes." I replied. "Just a few minutes ago-I had to go check something at Shannon's house."
Mom nodded and sighed. "Well, today's going to be a nightmare. I'm stuck at work all day and all the kids have their summer classes."
"Just tell me what needs to be done." I cut in, knowing full well what she wanted of me. It didn't bother me that I'd be busy today. At the moment, nothing bothered me.
Mom laughed, relieved. "Kristy, you're a doll. Charlie promised he'd drop them all and then pick up Andrew at his drawing class. Could you pick up David Michael at Little League and Karen at tap dancing?"
I nodded and she thanked me about a thousand times before rushing off. I was on cloud nine as I made my way into the house, pass my brothers, up the stairs and then jumped onto my bed and stared at the ceiling thinking about Cary. I couldn't think of anything else.
Cary sighed and nodded numbly as Alan jabbered on about Robin William's special on HBO the previous night.
"Man, I can't BELIEVE you missed it!" He exclaimed, shaking his head. "The guy is a genius and you can't even fit it into your schedule to catch his shows."
"I was a little busy." Cary replied, hiding a secretive smile.
"Why?" Alan asked slyly. "You get lucky watching the History Channel. Don't feel bad, I hear that's how all Don Juan's get their girls hot."
"How did you get so perverse, Alan?" Cary inquired as they headed into the Cheapo Music store. Despite it's name, Cheapo was only cheap when it came to the used CDs. If it was a new release, it was twenty bucks and up. Cary couldn't find it in his heart to tell his friend that he was being ripped off.
"I didn't spend all my time with the geeks." Alan teased. "Don't get me wrong-I'll bet Merrie Dow can be a pretty hot number if she ditched the Mary Anne Spier braids and the coke bottle glasses."
"Merrie's just a friend." Cary objected, then without thinking, added, "Kristy's the real thing."
It took a while for Cary to realize that Alan hadn't said anything and looked up. Alan was staring at him strangely. It was hard to tell whether he was furious or trying to suppress hysterics.
"Kristy?" Alan whispered, then burst out laughing. "Kristy?! Are you SERIOUS?!"
Cary bit his bottom lip and frowned, he hadn't even realized that he'd spoken. "Yes, I am being serious."
Alan took his time in calming down and then eyed Cary in a way he didn't like. "I don't think so. Kristy's good for a ride, especially if you can't afford Disney Land-but if you want a real woman, you're better off with Claudia. But I won't say it's easier to get Kristy into bed than Claud."
With that, Alan walked out, waving dismally at the CDs. "I'm bored, let's blow out of here."
"What the hell did you mean by that?" Cary asked as he followed Alan out of the store.
"I meant that those CDs in there are rip offs- " Alan began.
"NO! I meant about Kristy!" Cary declared hotly. "You made her sound like some kind of whore or something!"
"I didn't mean anything like that." Alan declared. "It's not like she walks the street down by the truck stops or anything. But, come on, surely you've heard of her reputation."
Reputation? Cary had learned a lot about Kristy the past summer, but all of those things had been positive. The only reputation she had around these parts was baby-sitting. He mentioned this to Alan and all he did was laugh.
"Sure, but what do you really think she does on those sitting jobs?" Alan asked as they headed down the escalator. "I'm not saying anything. But the tricks she's pulled at school certainly make you think of what-or who- she does in her free time."
Cary's head spun and for one mad instant he felt like punching Alan's face in. He maintained his composure long enough to ask a question that he really felt should have been left alone. "She's had other boyfriends before?" He asked curiously.
Alan scoffed. "Sure. I should know. I was one of them-I never slept with her or anything if that's what you're wondering. But, I'll tell you, she sure knew how to make a guy beg."
Cary laughed unbelievingly. "That does NOT sound like Kristy."
"You mean she wasn't driving you crazy last night?" Alan asked, to which Cary glanced up a little too quickly. "Aha. I knew it. I don't blame you for screwing her. A lot of guys can't help themselves."
Alan paused and leaned against the wall. "Let's see...after me there was Logan. Don't look at me like that, Cary, I kid you not. It didn't last long because he started seeing Mary Anne-but they do occasionally get together to play football-a fact, use it as you wish.
"Then there was the time when she and Mr. Fiske were dancing at the Spring Fling in middle school. It might not have been anything, but mind you, they disappeared for an hour afterwards.
"She had fun with this boy Bart Taylor for a little while, but even a spoiled rich boy can't satisfy her appetites. That's why she couldn't resist herself when SMS went on that trip to Europe. She and this dude, Michel DuMoulin, were all over each other the entire trip. He even went up to her room on the farewell party-a"
Alan might have gone on and on forever about Kristy's 'history' but Cary didn't give him a chance. Without realizing, he had balled his hand into a fist and knocked Alan across the jaw so forcefully that he stumbled. Without saying good-bye, Cary stomped away while Alan yelled a few obscenities about his choice of women at his cold back. As he headed out of the mall, Cary clenched his hair in his fists. All those things that Alan said couldn't be true, right?
Kristy....HIS Kristy wouldn't do any of those things. As far as he knew, she was fairly innocent and certainly as inexperienced as he was...that's part of what had made last night so comfortable. And Cary had known nothing about Kristy's ex-Bart Taylor. Why hadn't she told him? If it was truly over, what was the big deal about telling him? Cary shook his head as he headed home. He'd talk to Kristy about it. She'd settle all this bull-crap. Meanwhile, he started to analyze his friendship with Alan and decided that Kristy was right: now he didn't know how he could be friends with him either.