Chapter 6:

The Golden Girl and the Greaser

(Cherry)

I wait for him. I'm in a yellow dress, perched anxiously on the edge of my bed. Dally is picking me up for our first official date at nine, which is in just a few minutes. I'm expecting him to be late, but I'm ready early anyway. I've been sitting here all ready for about twenty minutes now—I was just so excited that I couldn't help getting dressed up much earlier than I needed to. So I wait for him, and I think of him. I think of him until I can't stop smiling.

The sound of knocking startles me out of my daydreams. I jump up and hurry over to the door. But before I open it, I take a deep breath to calm myself. I wouldn't want to seem too eager, after all.

As soon as I see him, however, my resolve to hide any eagerness instantly crumbles.

Dallas Winston towers above me, tall and sturdy. His white blonde hair tumbles in soft waves around the hard, elf-like features of his face. At the sight of me, his mouth curves up into that crooked, smart-ass smirk of his that always makes me want to slap him and kiss him at the same time. His icy blue eyes glint dangerously, and I feel like I'm going to pass out in the best way.

I eye up his outfit—the usual jeans and leather jacket, but underneath the jacket—a button-down shirt.

"Did you dress up for me?" I ask incredulously.

He shrugs. "Sodapop said you would like it. He's the one who lent the shirt to me." He fiddles with the collar, looking rather irritated. "It feels so tight. And I look like a square."

I giggle. "No, you don't. You look real good."

"Oh, do I?" he asks in his naturally cocky tone, waggling his eyebrows at me.

"Oh my God." I roll my eyes. "Why exactly am I going out with you?"

"Because you think I look real good."

"Shut up," I tell him as he puts his arm around me. I try not to smile too much.

As we walk past Ponyboy's bedroom, I feel a pang of guilt. He's been in there all day with the door locked. I hope he isn't too upset that I'm going out with Dally.

Downstairs, we find Sodapop and Johnny sitting on the couch. Johnny stares at us silently, his dark eyes wild with panic. Sodapop, calm and radiant, grins up at us.

"Look at the beautiful couple," he declares cheerfully. "You'd better not behave yourselves tonight, you hear?"

"Sodapop!" I cry, my face heating up with embarrassment.

Sodapop lets out a whooping laugh. Dally laughs along with him, guiding me away from the boys and toward the front door.

Outside, the Florida air isn't muggy for once. A refreshing breeze cools my blushing cheeks as I unsuccessfully try to forget Sodapop's joke.

"So," I say, "where exactly are you taking me?"

"Now what would be the fun in telling you that?" He squeezes my arm. "Don't worry, you'll like it."

The car ride to our mystery destination is fast and quiet. Usually Dally's crazy driving freaks me out, but tonight it just makes me feel alive. The convertible's top is down, and the wind blows through my hair. I breathe in the sea salt air, I breathe in the nighttime, I breathe in Dally's wild energy. I feel his hand on my bare knee, and I want…

Before I can figure out what exactly I want, Dally pulls into a grassy lot with a giant movie screen.

"A drive-in?" I ask, delighted.

"Yeah. I thought we could re-do our first meeting. Maybe with a little less yelling and a little less coke in my face."

I laugh at the thought of our ugly first encounter. What he didn't know about that night was that even while I felt beyond furious with him, I also felt pretty turned on.

"I'm still not sorry about throwing that coke in your face," I tell him.

He laughs, low and throaty, as he stops to pay for our tickets.

After he finds a place to park, he turns to me and asks, "Do you think you'll let me kiss you this time?" His eyes, bright and hungry, linger on my lips.

I have to swallow hard before I can speak. "Possibly."

He grins at me, and I can't help but grin right back at him.

"How about I grab us some cokes?" he suggests, opening his car door.

"That sounds great," I say, smoothing my windblown hair back behind my ear.

"As long as you promise not to use your coke as a weapon against me."

"I promise," I laugh. He saunters off toward the concession stand, and I can't help but check him out from behind.

Just before the movie starts, he returns with our cokes. The movie turns out to be Psycho, a scary movie from several years back that I never watched. Actually, I never really watch scary movies. Violence bothers me so much that I can't stand them. I decide not to tell Dally this because I really don't want to ruin our date.

The movie begins slowly, and I'm okay for a while. But then the screaming and the stabbing starts, and I have to squeeze my eyes shut.

I feel Dally wrap his arm around me, and he says, "Does this movie scare you?"

I crack my eyes open to watch a dying Janet Leigh fall down in the shower. "No."

Dally chuckles, and then he pulls my body closer to his. He places his large, rough hand on my face, and I turn away from the horror on screen to look at him. The passion in his eyes is almost as violent as the movie.

In a deep, husky tone, he says, "Do I scare you?"

I stare at him for a moment, considering his question. Dallas Winston is violent. Someone like him could break me. But somehow, I know that he won't break me. He will change my whole world, but he won't break me.

"No," I whisper, moving my face closer to his. "You don't scare me at all."

And then he kisses me harder than I've ever been kissed. I feel him burning in my mouth, on my skin, everywhere. I feel the sharp planes of his face beneath my hands. I feel the brutish strength of his arms wrapped around my body. Dallas Winston is burning sharp violent, and I want him more than I've ever wanted anything.

He will change my whole world.

When he stops, he breathes heavy against my skin. He meets my gaze with his ice eyes and he asks breathily, "Are you sure I don't scare you?"

"Maybe you should scare me… but you don't."

Dally nods slowly, his eyes lighting up. And then he smiles the first genuinely happy smile I have ever seen on his face.

As the movie progresses, the two of us progressively grow disinterested in it. Dally kisses me a lot, especially during the scary scenes. Every kiss leaves me wanting and burning. By the end of the movie, my heart is full of Dallas Winston.

Dally takes me home close to midnight, right after the movie finishes. When we arrive, the beach house is dark and silent. We go inside and up the stairs together, hand in hand. I focus on the feeling of his hand firm around mine, and I suddenly know he is good.

"I wonder where those kids got off to," Dally mumbles, glancing at the empty bedrooms of Ponyboy and Johnny. "They're usually sleeping by now." He turns his gaze to me, his eyes glowing softly in the dimness. "I guess you probably want to get to bed yourself, don't you?"

"I'm not tired."

"Oh. Well, do you want to take a walk on the beach or something?"

Before I can stop myself, I grab his sharp face in my hands and pull him down to my mouth. I kiss him with all the fire I feel for him, for this boy who is violent yet good. And then I whisper against his lips, "I want you to come into my room."

His eyelids flutter open in shock. He stares at me with disbelief, and I stare back at him with certainty.

"Why do you want me to come into your room?" he asks.

I take his hand and press it against my breast, just above my pounding heart.

"Do you feel that?" I ask quietly. "That's the way I feel about you. That's the way I always feel about you, whether I'm kissing you or just looking at you… I can't stand feeling like this and not doing anything about it."

His eyes flash, icy hot. "You want me to come into your room," he says slowly.

"I want you to come into my room, Dally," I confirm, my voice trembling only slightly. "I want you—"

Abruptly, Dally swoops me up into his arms and kisses me. He carries me into my room, kicking the door shut behind us, and he lays me down on my bed. I remember lying here in this same place when I was fourteen, dreaming of a lover's touch. I hear his jacket fall to the floor. Sometimes old dreams become flesh and bone reality, and they change your whole world. Dally is shirtless, his body wedged between my legs. Sometimes two very different worlds come together and create a new world. Dally unzips my dress. A new world.

"I've never done this," I blurt out, breathing hard. I'm in my underwear and Dally is holding me and his lips are on my neck and this is so new that I can't help but say something.

Dally pushes himself up so that his face is above mine. "You never had sex with your boyfriend?" he asks, intrigued.

"No. I loved him, but… things never felt quite right with him."

"Do things feel right with me?"

"Yes," I say automatically. "I don't know why exactly, but this feels right."

"It must be because I'm just so damn charming." He grins down at me.

"Yes, that must be it," I laugh. I brush my fingers through the soft waves of his hair, and I almost start to cry because he's just so beautiful. "I'm sorry I interrupted you. It's just… this is so important."

"Important," Dally mutters, shaking his head sadly. He brushes his callused thumb over my cheek, wiping away a tear. Then he says in the most gentle tone I've ever heard him use, "Cherry. Are you sure that you want me? Are you sure I'm enough for you? I mean, you're the golden girl, Cherry, and I'm just a—"

"Stop it," I say hotly, holding his face in my hands. "I don't care if I'm the golden girl. You are exactly what I want, okay? You are more than enough." I let one of my hands fall from his face to trace the hard lines of his chest, his stomach… My body is throbbing for him. "Touch me, Dally. Please."

And then he does touch me. We become the sea, rising and crashing together like waves. In one night, my whole world changes.

I try to forget that Dallas Winston is just a greaser.

A/N: I'm back! :) I am so happy that I finally got to write this chapter! I'm so sorry for the super long wait-I had the craziest semester at school and writing for fun was impossible. But now I'm home for the summer and I'm hoping to get a lot of this fic written in the next few months! :) I hope you all enjoyed this wild chapter! ;) It was a joy to write it, for sure! I'm very excited to further explore Dally and Cherry's relationship! :) The next chapter will be devoted to Ponyboy and Johnny-we will finally get to see Pony confront Johnny about his love letter, which should be interesting. ;) Thank you very much to everyone who keeps on reading this fic, even with my many months of absence from it. I really appreciate your continued readership! :)