Thursday, October 5, 1995

Our cafeteria had two lunch lines- the full lunch line which had the school's hot lunch for the day and the a la carte line. The a la carte line had mostly snack foods- chips, candy bars, and snack cakes. Of course, my lunch usually consisted of items from the a la carte line. My "go to" lunch was a can of Dr. Pepper, a bag of Doritos, and a Snickers bar. Hey! The Snickers bar has milk chocolate- that's dairy! It's brown like meat, and it has nuts- protein! The Doritos have cheese- dairy! And the Dr. Pepper is cherry flavored- fruit! That's what I call a well balanced meal!

I was walking out of the a la carte line and headed towards the table Mary Lou, Connie, and the guys were sitting at when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see who had stopped me. Dickie. I felt my jaw and fists tighten instantly.

"Hey, Steph!" He greeted me as if the movie theater incident had never happened.

I glared back at him. "Dickie."

He gave me a sexy pout. "Aww, you're not still mad at me over Saturday night, are you?"

I blew out a frustrated sigh. "What do you want, Dickie?"

He grinned. "I just wanted to see what color your dress is. You never told me, and I still have to get my tie and your corsage."

I just stared at him in disbelief. How could he possibly think that I would still want to go to Homecoming with him? A better question would be why did he still want me to go with him? He had pretty much said that he expected sex, and I clearly wasn't going to provide that for him. So why wasn't he looking for another date?

His forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Steph?"

I blinked and looked at him. "Dickie…" I started.

He interrupted me. "Look, I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable Saturday night. I thought we were on the same page."

I nodded. "Thanks for the apology, but I think…"

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and began guiding me towards his table. "Come and sit with me. We can talk about what you want to do after the dance. You wanna get dinner after? There's a whole group that's doing dinner and bowling. Or we could head to Point Pleasant. Luke's family has a beach house there, and he's throwing an after party. Bonfire on the beach, the whole deal."

I stopped walking and just stared at him. He finally stopped and turned to look at me.

I shook my head. "Dickie, I'm not going to Homecoming with you."

He glared at me. "Why not?"

I glared back. "Because you were a jerk Saturday night! You left me at the movie theater because I wouldn't put out, and I had to find my own way home."

His hands clenched into fists. "I didn't leave you there. I offered you a ride home. You're the one who chose to take a ride from the Spic instead of me."

I wanted to slap him across the face, but Principal Marco was in charge of supervising the cafeteria during lunch, and he was already taking quite an interest in our conversation. In fact, he had stood up and started walking in our direction.

Instead, I settled for hissing back at him. "Like I would accept a ride home from you after what you'd done! And don't call him that!"

Someone slung a muscular arm around my shoulder, and I turned to find Lester. Tank, Cal, and Hal were right behind him.

"So that's it, huh?" Dickie asked. "This is the kind of crowd you'd rather associate with? You're going to leave me without a date to Homecoming so that you can hang out with some gangbangers. Fabulous, Stephanie. I'm sure your parents are thrilled."

I felt Lester's arm tense, and I knew he was angry. Hell, I was angry for him!

I poked Dickie in the chest with my finger. "For your information, my father likes Carlos. You are the one he said wasn't allowed to take me to the dance."

Dickie's eyes widened in disbelief, and he snorted. "Yeah, right! You don't actually expect me to believe that your father chose a group of criminals over me!"

I lifted one shoulder. "Think whatever you want, Dickie. But I will warn you that my dad told my mom this morning that if he ever found you in our house, he would toss you out on your ass."

"Miss Plum, language!" Marco had come up behind me without my noticing, and he was just in time to hear my last comment. Of course. Crap!

I blushed and nodded. "Sorry, Mr. Marco."

He nodded back at me. "Now. What seems to be the problem here?"

I looked over at Dickie who flashed Marco a wide, charming grin. "No problem, sir. Stephanie and I were just making arrangements for Homecoming."

I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath. I tried to give myself a mental pep talk. I will not punch Dickie. I will not punch Dickie.

Marco's eyes shifted to me, and he raised his eyebrows in question.

I plastered a fake smile on my face. "No problem, sir. Dickie was just telling me what he and his date will be up to that night, and I was telling him about my plans for the evening."

Dickie narrowed his eyes at my comment, and Mr. Marco looked between the two of us.

"I take it that the two of you are not going together then?" he asked.

"No, sir." I answered at the same time that Dickie said "Yes, we are."

Mr. Marco's lips hinted at a slight grin. He looked over at Dickie. "In my experience, son, if the girl says she's not going with you, you need to find another date."

Dickie clenched his fists and dropped his head. Through gritted teeth, he managed a "Yes, sir."

Marco waved his hand at the group of us. "Now, let's all sit down and finish our lunches. There's only 15 minutes left before the bell."

I scurried over to my table, the guys right behind me. As soon as I sat down, Connie and Mary Lou pounced. "What did Dickie want? What was that all about? What did Marco say?"

I held up my hand as I tore open my Snickers and popped the tab on my Dr. Pepper. I needed caffeine and sugar, and I needed it now! I put the Snickers bar in my mouth and bit down, tearing off a giant hunk with my teeth. I moaned as I washed it down with a huge gulp of pop. Oh, God! That was good!

I looked up and noticed that Cal and Lester were looking back at me with slightly pained expressions.

"What?" I asked huffily. If they were going to lecture me on my lunch, I'd move to a different table!

"Nothing, nothing!" they muttered, waving their hands in the air and squirming in their seats.

I glared at them, but neither seemed inclined to elaborate on whatever was bothering them, so I turned back to Connie and Mary Lou. I explained about Dickie and his asinine belief that we were still going to Homecoming together.

Connie's eyes were so wide that they nearly popped right out of her head. "Is he an idiot?" she squeaked.

My mouth was full of Doritos, so I just nodded. Yep, I was pretty sure that the Dickster was in fact a giant idiot.

Mary Lou shook her head. "Did you tell him that you were going with Carlos?"

I washed the chips down with my Dr. Pepper. "Well, I didn't come right out and say that Carlos was taking me, but I think he can figure it out from what was said."

Connie just shook her head. "I usually tape Days of Our Lives during the day and watch it when I get home from school, but lately your life has been more interesting than a soap opera!"

I stuck my tongue out at her and changed the subject, asking her and Cal if their pizza date was still on for that night. They both blushed and nodded, stealing glances at one another out of the corner of their eyes. Connie turned her head and grinned, and Cal winked at me when Connie wasn't looking. It seemed as though my two friends were getting along pretty well!

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As always happens when you want time to pass quickly, the afternoon drug by excruciatingly slowly. I had looked over at the clock so many times during History that Mr. Washington probably thought I had a nervous tic.

But by far the worst class had been computers. It was one of the few that I had with Dickie. He had spent the whole period looking dejected and being consoled by the three girls who sat around him. They kept shooting daggers my way and then rubbing Dickie's arm or whispering things to him while glaring pointedly at me. Hmm… Bet I could guess what they were saying. Or the gist of it at least!

I rolled my eyes at them and tried to concentrate on the spreadsheet I was supposed to be creating. I didn't care what they thought of me. Really. But was it too much to ask that people at least found out the whole story before they judged? I shook my head. Stephanie, Stephanie! I scolded myself. This is the Burg. It doesn't matter what's true. All that matters is what makes for the juiciest story. Plus, Dickie is a good looking single guy from a wealthy family. What girl wouldn't want to comfort him? This girl. That's who. I bit my lip to keep from snickering at that thought.

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Carlos frowned when I met him at his locker at the end of the day. "What's this I hear about Dickie talking to you at lunch?"

I huffed out a breath. "It was nothing."

Carlos raised an eyebrow at me. "According to Lester, it was far from nothing, Babe."

I shrugged and turned, walking down the hall. "He was under the delusion that we were still going to Homecoming together. He wanted to talk about what color my dress was and what I wanted to do after the dance."

Carlos grabbed my hand and tugged me back to him. His forehead was creased, and his mouth was tight. "Does he still think you're going together?"

I shook my head. "No. I made it very clear that I have no intention of going with him."

Carlos relaxed and laced his fingers through mine. We started walking silently towards the parking lot. He gently bumped my shoulder with his. "So what would you like to do after the dance?"

I turned towards him and grinned. "Anything you want. But if you take me somewhere that has a chocolate dessert, you'll be my favorite person in the whole world."

He grinned back. "The Tasty Pastry it is!" he teased.

I smacked him lightly on the arm. "Har, har!"

He laughed. "So what options did Dickie give you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Dinner, bowling, or an after party at one of his friend's beach houses."

Carlos nodded thoughtfully. "Any of those sound good to you?"

I shrugged. "Well, I love the beach. It's one of my favorite places. But food ranks pretty high on the list as well. It doesn't really matter to me. Whatever you want to do is fine."

At that statement, Carlos stopped me and put his hands on my shoulders. "Do you trust me to plan something that you'll like?"

I looked into his eyes. "Of course."

He smiled and leaned down to brush my lips with a sweet kiss. "Good."

I looked at him questioningly. "Wait a minute! Does this mean that you aren't going to tell me what you're planning?"

Carlos grinned mischievously, and I groaned. I can't stand secrets! The only way that I like a surprise is if I don't know about it ahead of time. Like if my grandma walked in the door and said, "Surprise! I made us an appointment to get manicures this afternoon!" That would be a fun surprise. On the other hand, if I know that someone has a secret, it drives me absolutely crazy! I end up hounding them until they just give in and tell me. Or I try to wheedle enough clues out of them that I can guess what they're planning.

I figured now was as good a time as any to start pumping Carlos for information. Pushing my lower lip out in a pout, I batted my eyelashes at him. "Aren't you even going to give me a hint?"

He grinned and shook his head.

"Not even one little eensy weensy clue?"

He grinned wider and leaned down to nip my lower lip. "You're cute when you pout." He whispered.

I glared at him and turned to stomp off towards my car. Well, where my car had been this morning. "Lester!" I growled.

Carlos laughed and walked me to the opposite end of the parking lot.

"I'm putting a car alarm on this thing!" I huffed. "That'll show him!"

"Patience, Babe." Carlos soothed. "He'll get his!"

I threw my books into the front seat. "Not soon enough!" I griped.

He shook his head and pinned me against the side of the car. My heart rate sped up as my fingertips traced his muscular chest. The guy must get up at a ridiculous time in the morning to run and lift weights, because he spent every evening with me!

Carlos leaned down and whispered in my ear, "5 am" before his tongue started tracing the shell of my ear.

"What about 5 am?" I asked huskily, my eyelids half closed.

"That's the ridiculously early time I get up to run and lift weights. Because you're right. I'd rather spend every evening with you." He nipped my earlobe and tugged it gently with his teeth, causing me to gasp.

He buried his fingers in my hair and pulled my face to his. His lips were on mine in an instant, and he was kissing me hungrily. I felt a jolt of electricity move down from my belly, and my legs turned to Jell-O. It was a good thing that he had me pinned against the car because otherwise I would have slithered to the ground.

He pulled back and leaned his forehead against mine, staring into my eyes.

"What was that?" I panted.

He kissed the tip of my nose and pushed back. "Just something to remember me by." He smirked.

I shook my head. Well he was right about that! There was no way that I could forget a kiss like that!

"You have plans for dinner, Babe?" he asked as I climbed into my car.

I smiled and shook my head no. "You planning on spoiling me every night with dinner, Carlos?"

He grinned. "Of course."

He closed my door and waved as I drove off to the Tasty Pastry.

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True to his word, Carlos showed up around 6:30 with his mother's roasted chicken and vegetables. We dished up the food and sat down to eat.

Carlos stole a green bean off of my plate. "So what are your plans for after the game tomorrow?"

I snagged a red pepper off of his plate. "Well, I was kind of hoping that the hot Cuban guy who started my car last week would want to do something."

He grinned. "I guarantee he's available."

I smiled. "Good to know. Any idea what he'd like to do after the game?"

Carlos leaned back in his seat. "I predict he'd be willing to do just about anything the cute little curly haired majorette wanted to do."

He thought I was cute! My heart swelled a little.

"So what would you like to do, Babe?" he asked.

I bit my lip. There was no way I could afford to go anywhere after the game. Well, maybe Taco Bell. But only if I ordered one taco and brought my own drink from home. Yeah, it was that desperate.

"You want to just hang out at your house? Or watch a movie at my house?" I suggested innocently.

Carlos raised one eyebrow. "My family would be thrilled to see you again, but wouldn't you rather get pizza or a burger or something?"

I shrugged and used my fork to push the veggies around on my plate. "I'm fine with just staying in."

Carlos used a finger to lift my chin. He studied my face, and I blushed under his gaze.

"Are you worried about paying to go out somewhere?" he asked softly.

I lowered my eyes and nodded. "Sorry, Carlos. If we could just stay in for a couple of weeks, I should be able to get caught up. Then we can do pizza and movies out."

He shook his head. "Stephanie, I was planning on buying."

I looked up at him. I was a Burg girl. I was used to guys paying for dates. But somehow Carlos was different. I didn't want him to think that I was taking advantage of him. I really cared about him, and I wanted to do nice things for him, too.

"I appreciate that, but you bought last time. The last two times, in fact. Plus you've been bringing me dinner every night!"

He shrugged. "And?"

"And I want to do something nice for you." I chewed on my lip, trying to think of something we could do. "We could always make cookies and watch a movie at my house, but that means that we'd have to deal with my mom." I blew out a sigh, making the curls across my forehead flutter.

Carlos leaned over and nuzzled my neck. "We can go back to my house and watch a movie. We can even make cookies if you want."

I moaned. I did want! I wanted whatever he wanted.

Carlos chuckled. "Good to know, Babe! But for tomorrow night, I think cookies and a movie will do."

I blushed furiously. Damn it! When was I going to stop thinking out loud?

I cleared my throat. "Tomorrow's an away game, so I have to ride the bus to the game."

He nodded. "Can you ride back with me? Or do you have to ride the bus back?"

"I can ride back with you if I have a note from my parents."

Carlos raised an eyebrow. "Would your mom let you ride back with me?"

"Probably not." I admitted. "But my dad will."

Carlos grinned. "That'll work."

"So we're doing cookies and a movie at your house?" I clarified. "You're sure you're OK with that?"

He nodded and leaned down. His lips moved against mine as he whispered. "I don't care what we do, Babe. Just as long as I get to spend time with you."

The bell over the door rang then, and I jumped out of my chair. Mrs. Fischer walked into the store and looked over at me disapprovingly. She clucked her tongue as she shuffled up to the counter. She muttered under her breath, intentionally being just loud enough for me to hear. "Well I never! Why, in my day a young lady would not be kissing a boy right out in public. And during her shift at work to boot!"

Carlos grinned at me behind Mrs. Fischer's back and cleaned up the dishes from dinner, taking them into the back to wash.

"Hello, Mrs. Fischer! What can I get for you tonight?" I tried to be pleasant, even though she was still insulting me and my morals under her breath.

She waited until Carlos had moved to the back of the store, and then she shook her finger at me. "You need to be careful, young lady!" she scolded. "You don't want to get a reputation."

I tried not to grin. "No, ma'am." I agreed.

She looked at me harshly once again, harrumphed, and then went about choosing some pastries. Once the bell over the door jingled, Carlos peeked his head out of the back. "Is she gone?" he asked with a grin.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Yes! And thanks a lot for leaving me alone with her!"

He grinned. "You're welcome, Babe."

I glared and threw a jelly doughnut in his direction, but he stepped to the side before it hit him. Instead, it landed on the floor with a splat, leaving a large puddle of jelly.

Carlos smirked at me. "The guy who mops the floors around here isn't going to be happy if you keep making messes like that." He teased.

I smirked back. "Oh yeah? What's he gonna do about it?"

Carlos reached into the display case and pulled out a cupcake. "He's probably going to get even, Babe." He said, a gleam in his eye.

I shrieked and ran behind the rack of day old pastries. "You wouldn't!"

He laughed. "I definitely would, Babe."

He followed me behind the rack and soon he had me pinned up against the wall. My heart was beating so loud and so hard that I was sure he could hear it. And when he slid one leg between mine, my breath hitched in my throat. I watched as he slowly unwrapped the cupcake. He offered me a bite, and I tentatively took one, half expecting him to smush it in my face. But he didn't. He just held it for me and fed it to me bite after bite until all that was left of it was the icing that had gotten smeared on his fingers. He lifted his hand and painted my lips with the icing, then leaned down to lick it off. He slowly drug his tongue around my lips, scooping up the icing. I moaned, and he leaned down to nibble on what was left.

"Yummy." He whispered against my lips before pulling back.

He walked into the back room to fill the mop bucket. I was still leaning against the wall, trying to catch my breath. What this guy did to me! Geesh!

I took a deep breath and blew it out, pushing myself off of the wall. I boxed up the leftovers and locked the door, heading back to the register. Carlos pushed the mop bucket out of the back and stopped next to the jelly doughnut. He grinned and shook his head, leaning down to toss it in the trash. "Only you, Babe!" he laughed.

I grinned and batted my eyelashes at him as I pulled the drawer out of the cash register.

We finished up our closing routine, and Carlos drove me to the bank and then back to get my car. He followed me home and walked me up to the front door. He pulled me close, his hands resting lightly on my hips, his forehead resting on mine.

"Good night, Babe." He whispered, leaning down to give me a light kiss on the lips. But I didn't want a chaste good night kiss. I didn't care if my parents or all of the neighbors were watching. I had had a few excellent kisses from Carlos today, and damn it, I wanted another one!

When he tried to pull his head back, I tangled my fingers in his hair and pulled his head back down towards mine. I pressed my lips against his feverishly, and he responded, groaning and opening his mouth. When he did that, I slid my tongue between his lips.

He pressed me tighter to him while his tongue explored mine. I pulled back to take in a deep shuddering breath and heard a banging sound. Looking over, I saw my mother glaring at us and banging on the window.

When she caught my eye, she pulled the curtains closed and stomped back out of the living room.

Carlos watched her go and leaned down to place a soft kiss on my lips. "Good luck, Babe." He grinned, hopping down off the porch and into his car.

I stuck my tongue out at him, and he laughed, waving as he backed out and headed for home.

TBC