Friday, October 6, 1995

Stephanie's POV

Friday morning I woke up with a huge smile on my face. I skipped into the shower and hummed while I soaped up my hair.

I thought back to last night and bit my lip when I remembered Carlos pinning me up against the wall. I know it made me sound like a hypocrite to say that I had enjoyed it. After all, it was the exact same position that Joe had had me in not 5 days earlier. But then it had been Joe, and it had been forced. Last night, it had been Carlos, and I had been willing. Very willing.

I felt the now familiar tingle in my belly that happened all too often when Carlos was around. I took a deep breath and arched my back, throwing my head back under the spray. I bit my lip as my fingers slid down between my thighs. I might be a virgin, but that didn't mean that I never had to admit to impure thoughts at confession. And lately, my thoughts were definitely running towards impure. A lot.

I was pretty sure that I was going to spontaneously combust if I couldn't convince my parents to buy a new massaging showerhead. Mary Lou had one at her house, and oh my God! Let's just say that if I had one here, our water bill would double! Every time Carlos dropped me off, I would head straight for the tub!

Since I didn't have a shower massager, I was going to have to take care of the problem myself. I rubbed my hands up and down my soapy chest, imagining that Carlos was stroking my stomach, my breasts, my nipples. I tugged lightly on them and moaned at the feeling. My right hand slid down my chest, over my belly and between my thighs. My breathing hitched as I rubbed in a slow, circular motion. My eyes fluttered closed as I pictured Carlos pinching the swollen nub, and I was gone.

I leaned against the shower wall as I caught my breath. Then I adjusted the water temperature, making it cooler. I was definitely overheated!

Since my shower had been longer than usual, I rushed to comb out my hair and scrunch the mousse through it. I didn't bother blow-drying it. It could air dry today. I rushed back to my room and pulled on my majorette track suit. The one good thing about football Fridays was that it didn't take me long to get dressed! There was no deciding what to wear. If it was a home game, we wore our pregame military skirt and top to school. If it was an away game, we wore our warm-up suit. I quickly swiped on some makeup and ran down the stairs.

I wanted to just run out the door, but I needed one of my parents to write a note saying that I could ride home with Carlos tonight instead of taking the bus back to the school. I took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen. "Morning, mom. Morning, dad."

My mother nodded at me as she assembled my dad's lunch. My dad looked up from his paper and lifted his chin in greeting. What can I say? We're not a morning family.

When Valerie and I used to have to share the bathroom in the mornings, we mostly communicated with one another by grunting. "Unh!" with a chin lift meant good morning. If it was combined with a head tilt, that meant she wanted me to move in that direction. And a grunt with angry eyebrows usually meant move out of the way but could also mean quit hogging the sink or give me back my lipstick.

I cleared my throat. "Um, can one of you write a note to Mr. George saying that I have permission to ride home with a friend after the game instead of taking the bus?"

My dad lowered his paper. "What friend?"

I blushed. "Carlos."

My dad nodded and reached for the piece of paper I was holding. I passed it over to him and looked at my mom. She was standing with her fist on her hip and a scowl on her face. "Frank! You're not seriously going to let her ride all the way home with that boy, are you? Do you know where the game is tonight? It's in Ledgemont! That's over an hour drive!"

My dad raised his eyebrows at her. "OK?" he questioned.

My mother huffed. "That's too long of a drive! I just don't think it's a good idea!"

My dad rolled his eyes. "Helen, for crying out loud! The boy has gone out of his way to help Stephanie and to look out for her. It's fine." He finished writing the note and slid it across the table to me.

"Thanks, dad!" I leaned down and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"That's alright." He replied gruffly. "You have fun at the game!"

"Where are you going after the game?" my mom questioned.

"Back to Carlos's house. In fact, would you mind if I'm a little past curfew tonight? Like you said, it's an hour drive home, and then we were going to make cookies and watch a movie."

My mothers pressed her lips together. "You have detention bright and early tomorrow morning, young lady. Do you really think it's a good idea to stay out late tonight?"

I frowned. I hadn't thought about that. I had to be at school at 7:00. That was even earlier than I had to be there during the week.

"If you think you'll be able to get up tomorrow, you can stay at Carlos's house until the movie is over. But come straight home once it's done." My dad ordered.

I nodded.

"And no later than 1:00." My mother added.

I nodded again. Grabbing the note, I kissed them both on the cheek and ran out to my car.

Somehow even though I had started out the morning running behind, I made it to school earlier than usual. Probably because I hadn't eaten breakfast.

As usual, Carlos and a few of the guys were hanging out around Lester's car, and I walked over towards them. Looking at Carlos, I blushed, thinking of the things I'd imagined him doing to me in the shower this morning.

He saw the blush and raised an eyebrow at me, but I just shook my head. There was no way that I was going to explain what was embarrassing me!

The guys teased me about the white "hooker boots" that I was wearing with my warm-up suit and told me how excited they were to come and watch me at the game tonight.

"You're all going to the game?" I asked nervously.

I got a chorus of "yeses" in reply.

"You don't have to watch just me, you know! Feel free to watch the other girls, too! In fact, I insist on it! Please watch the other girls!"

Lester laughed. "You'll do great, Beautiful! Don't let us scare you!"

I appreciated the encouragement, but knowing that Carlos and all of his friends would be watching me made me a little nervous. OK, a lot nervous. With my luck, I'd accidentally throw my baton into the tuba section or something!

I spent the rest of the day thinking about all of the horrible disasters that my baton and I could have during the game. Quite possibly my worst nightmare was that I would toss my baton up, turn around once, and get whacked in the head instead of catching it. Unfortunately, I couldn't even wave that one away as unrealistic. It had actually happened to Joy at band camp this year. Her nose was bleeding like crazy, and she still had a tiny scar from it. I shuddered and tried to shove that thought out of my head.

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At every game we went to, the band had their own section of bleachers to sit in. The majorettes always lined up on the track in front of the band bleachers. Whenever the team made a touchdown, the band played the fight song, and we did the routine that went with it. In between, the band played "stands music" which was mostly older rock songs like "Hang On Sloopy," "Celebration," or "Rock Around the Clock." We did our halftime show routines to the songs. It gave us a chance to warm up, and the crowd never noticed that they were the same.

Carlos and the rest of the guys sat in the front row, right next to the band section. I couldn't help but notice that Connie was sitting right by Cal, a pretty blush covering her cheeks. Mary Lou sat by Connie, cheering for Lenny.

The guys were incredibly enthusiastic. And by that, I mean obnoxious. Although I appreciated the support, they were a loud and rowdy group. Every time I did anything even remotely difficult, they would whoop and holler. Lester had even brought one of those annoying "air horn in a can" things. It was basically a metal can with a plastic horn on the top. Whenever he pulled the trigger, the can would let out a ridiculously loud "EHHHHHHH" sound. The first time he did it, it scared the shit out of me! I almost dropped my baton and peed my pants at the same time. Luckily, I managed to avoid doing both, but not by much!

Lester was definitely the front runner in the "Who can be the most annoying fan at a football game" race, but Bobby and Tank were close behind, tied for second place. Bobby had taken an empty milk jug and filled it with pennies. Whenever our team got anywhere near the end zone, he would stand up and shake the living daylights out of the milk jug. It was way louder than I ever thought pennies could be! Tank, on the other hand, had a cowbell. An honest to God, freakin' cowbell. Where he had found a cowbell, I had no idea. We lived in a major metropolitan area. The last time I had even seen a real live cow was on our first grade field trip to the farm. And it had been a two hour bus ride to get there. But, hey, what did I know? Maybe Tank had a cow in his back yard. In any case, the three of them together were almost unbearable!

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When the game was over, the band lined up to march back out through the gates. I twirled my way through the gate and towards the bus. When we got there, the band director pulled out his clipboard and started calling the squads to board the bus, one by one. When he got to the majorettes, I reminded him that I had a note. He looked up at Carlos who was standing next to me, my duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He frowned and looked down at the note again.

Looking back up, Mr. George studied my face. "If I call your father, is he going to verify that you have permission to go home with this boy?"

I nodded. "Yes. My dad wrote the note this morning. He knows that Carlos is driving me home."

Mr. George scrubbed his hand across his face and waved me off. "Alright then, Miss Plum. Go ahead."

I smiled and grabbed Carlos's hand. "Thanks! Good night, Mr. George!"

He just shook his head as we walked off.

When we got to Carlos's car, I fidgeted nervously. He raised an eyebrow at me. "What's wrong, Babe?"

I bit my lip. "Well, I usually change before riding home. The sequins are kind of scratchy."

He gave me a big grin. "So, what's under that uniform, Babe?"

I stuck my tongue out at him. "A leotard and tights, Mr. Smarty Pants!"

He shrugged. "Then what's the problem? Just take off your uniform and put on your sweatsuit or whatever's in the bag."

I blushed. "Well, I know I have on a leotard, but it still feels kind of exposed…" my voice trailed off nervously.

Carlos grinned and pulled me in for a hug. Dropping a kiss on my head, he said, "Do you want to change in the car, Babe? I'll turn around and wait out here."

I exhaled the breath I was holding and nodded, relieved. Just because I was having shower fantasies about Carlos didn't mean I wanted to act them out. At least not yet.

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Carlos opened the front door and ushered me through, calling out, "Mama! We're home!"

Mrs. Manoso came running out of the kitchen, a big smile on her face. She did a double take when she saw me taking off my knee high white boots, and I blushed.

"Could I use your restroom?" I asked politely.

"Of course, dear, of course!" She waved me down the hall and into a small half bath. I quickly stripped off my warm-up suit and removed my leotard. I pulled my warm-up suit and socks back on and stuck the leotard in my duffel bag. Opening the door, I carried my bag over to the front door and left it in the foyer by my boots.

"We're in the kitchen, dear!" Carlos's mother called out when she heard me walking back down the hall.

I walked into the kitchen and saw Carlos leaning one hip against the counter and looking over his mother's shoulder as she flipped through a cookbook. Mrs. Manoso looked up at me and smiled. "Carlos didn't tell us that you were a majorette!"

I grinned and nodded.

"Does that mean that you get to twirl the fire batons at Homecoming next week?" she asked, her eyes shining excitedly.

"Yep! Are you guys coming to the game?" I asked, crossing the room towards the two of them.

She tilted her head. "We've gone to a few of the Homecoming games, but it's been a while. Ricardo and I weren't really planning on going, but maybe now we will." She smiled at me.

I smiled back. "I'd like that."

Carlos lifted me up and sat me on the counter in front of him. "What kind of cookies are you hungry for, Babe?"

"What are my choices?"

Mrs. Manoso flipped through a couple pages. "Well, Carlos said that you loved chocolate."

I nodded when she looked up to confirm that statement.

She continued. "We have the ingredients for a couple different kinds of cookies. We can do chocolate chip. Or…" she pointed to a picture in the cookbook "We can do these. They're chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips." She smiled. "They're one of my favorites."

I smiled and nodded. "You can't go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate!" I agreed.

We all worked together to mix up the cookie dough, and then Carlos's mother shooed us into the family room. "Go watch your movie!" she insisted. "I'll bake these for you and bring some in when they're ready."

We thanked her and walked into the family room to try to find a movie. Carlos held up several choices until we finally narrowed it down to Iron Eagle, Footloose, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

"What's Iron Eagle about?" I asked, flipping the tape over and skimming the back.

"It's an action movie. An Air Force pilot gets shot down in the Middle East, and his son hijacks a plane and goes in to rescue him. It's good." He informed me.

"So is Footloose!" I countered.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Babe. A town where dancing is illegal? Come on."

I rolled my eyes at him. "It's a movie!"

He just shook his head. "How about Ferris Bueller?" he suggested.

I nodded. "Sounds good to me!" That was one of my favorite movies. Next to Ghostbusters. If Carlos turned the volume all the way down, I could probably do most of the dialogue for him.

Carlos popped the tape in and sat down, his back against the arm of the couch and his left leg stretched out across the cushions. He reached up and put his hands on my hips, gently pulling me down between his legs.

He rubbed my shoulders, and I sighed appreciatively, leaning my neck forward. His hands were magic, massaging the knots out of my neck and shoulders. When I was almost relaxed enough to fall asleep, he finished and rubbed his hands down my arms. Reaching my hands, he laced our fingers together and then wrapped both of our arms around my middle. He leaned down and nuzzled my neck, nipping lightly against my throat. I moaned and leaned my head against his shoulder to give him a better angle.

I gripped his hands harder, encouraging him to keep going. He trailed kisses from my ear to my shoulder, licking and nipping. I panted and turned my head just slightly. When he got to the place where my neck and shoulder meet, he sucked the skin into his mouth, biting down. I gasped at the sting, and he quickly ran his tongue over the tender flesh.

He buried his face in my neck and let out a breath. "You make it very difficult to behave myself!" He rasped out breathlessly.

I turned and rubbed my cheek against his. "I know the feeling." I whispered.

"Cookies!" Mrs. Manoso announced, walking into the family room. She smiled when she saw the two of us cuddled together on the couch.

She walked over and sat a tray with a plate of cookies and two glasses of milk on the coffee table.

"Mmmm!" I moaned appreciatively. "Those smell yummy!"

I leaned over to grab a cookie, and Mrs. Manoso gasped. She smacked Carlos on the back of the head and started lecturing him in a steady stream of Spanish. At least I think she was lecturing him. I was going solely on tone since I had no idea what she was actually saying.

Carlos shot me a guilty look and started talking back to his mother. She stuck her hands on her hips and glared at him while he spoke. He leaned over and brushed a soft kiss on my cheek, and her face softened. She asked Carlos one last question, which he answered with a soft, "Si, Mama."

At that, his mother gave us both another wide grin before she turned and scooted out of the room.

When she was gone, I turned and looked at Carlos, confused. "What was that all about?"

He grinned and traced his fingertips along my neck. "My Mama was upset with me."

"I gathered that from her tone of voice. What did you do?"

He grinned even wider. "It's not what I've done; it's what she's afraid I'm going to do."

I blew out a frustrated breath. "OK. What is she afraid you're going to do?"

"Ruin our Homecoming pictures."

I knitted my eyebrows together. "Huh?"

Carlos brushed my hair away from my neck and ran his finger along the side. "I may have gotten a little carried away earlier." He admitted, looking slightly guilty.

I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. "What do you mean you might have gotten carried away?"

He cleared his throat. "You have a couple of… um… marks, on your neck here."

I gasped and jumped off of the couch, headed for the mirror that hung over the fireplace. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail with my hands and turned so that I could see my neck. Carried away? I guess so! I had one large hickey at the base of my neck and a couple of smaller ones further up my neck.

"Carlos!" I wailed.

He stood behind me, but I could see his reflection in the mirror, and he was trying not to laugh! Jerk! I smacked him on the arm. "I'm glad you think this is funny, mister! I'm going to have to wear turtlenecks for a week! And your mother is right! No more sucking on my neck until after Homecoming!"

He raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Does that mean I'm allowed to suck on other parts of your body until Homecoming?"

I felt my face get hot, and I wanted to bury it in my hands and stay quiet. Instead, my stupid mouth opened up, and "maybe," tumbled out.

Carlos groaned at that and pulled me flush against him. "You could always suck on my neck, Babe." He whispered hoarsely. "I wouldn't mind if you wanted to get even."

I just shook my head. The guy was incorrigible!

"So what did your mom ask you right before she left?"

He didn't answer me right away, so I pulled back to look up at his face. He was blushing! I swear to God that his cheeks were bright red. He tried to wave off the question like it was no big deal. "Nothing, Babe. Just talking."

I might have believed him if his cheeks weren't still stained, but now I needed to know! "If you don't want to tell me, I can just go ask your mom!" I teased. I took a step towards the kitchen, and he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back towards him.

"She asked…" he paused and buried his face in my neck. I felt him take in a deep breath and blow it back out gently. "She asked if I loved you."

I turned in his arms and looked up at his face, startled. "And you said yes." I stated. I think maybe I was in shock.

He nodded and looked down at me. "I know it seems fast, but I think I'm in love with you, Stephanie." He whispered.

I looked up into his face and swallowed hard against the lump in my throat. "I think I love you, too." I whispered.

His face broke into a wide grin, and he cupped my face in his hands, leaning down to kiss me until I was breathless.

TBC

Awww! Aren't they sweet? :) Anyone have any final requests or guesses for the detention scene? It's coming up next!

And what will Helen have to say about the marks on Stephanie's neck?