“There’s no way I’m wearing this,” I told Angie.
“Brother-in-law of mine, trust me on this. Beth’ll love it,” Angie told me.
Joyce finally looked me in the eyes and nodded her agreement. The girls led me out of the apartment before I could change. Greg and Dad had a different opinion when I walked in.
“Dude, seriously!” Greg offered.
“Leave him alone. I dressed him,” Angie defended me.
“David, ahhh,” Dad mumbled.
“Don’t listen to them,” Angie assured me. “Beth thank you for wearing that.”
Mom came out and stopped to look me up and down. She just shrugged and gave me the information on the reservations. We were going to a romantic Italian restaurant.
MOM LENT ME HER CAR. The Jeep was not the greatest vehicle for a girl to get into and out of in high heels; that was the excuse Mom gave. I was fine because Mom had a boat. She used a Cadillac for her real estate business.
I’ll give the county credit: they had the roads cleared, and we even had a crew out to take care of our downed tree limb. The previous county government had been run out because they weren’t focused on core services. Our former sheriff, who thought we needed a helicopter to fight drugs and found two marijuana fields over the last year, was a prime example.
When I arrived at Beth’s, I went to the door, and Mr. Anderson invited me in. I could hear muffled giggles from upstairs.
“Has it been like this all day?” I asked.
He just rolled his eyes, being smart enough not to voice his opinion on the matter. Mrs. A hustled downstairs with her camera, which made me feel like I was waiting for my prom date. I was anxious to see Beth since I hadn’t seen her since Homecoming.
The wait was worth it. She was in a floor-length gown. The top half had a cream-colored base, which matched her skin tones. There was ruby-red beading in a sophisticated floral pattern. The bottom half was a deep, rich red color. She coordinated with matching heels. Beth’s hair had been pulled up so it showed off her neck, and her makeup was just enough for evening wear. I gave myself a mental chuckle when I realized I knew the difference in makeup. In short, she was gorgeous.
She lit up when she saw the look on my face. I smiled as she bit her bottom lip, trying to walk elegantly down the stairs. She reached the bottom, gave me a sexy look, and did a little pirouette so I’d get the full effect. I swept her into my arms, forgetting her parents were watching and kissed her. At that moment, I knew Beth could be the one. Besides Tami, no one knew me better or cared more for me.
“I love you,” I said as we finally stopped kissing.
I don’t know who was more shocked, Beth or her parents. She kissed me back with more passion. I understood that if we didn’t leave soon, I was going to be doing unspeakable acts in front of her parents. When Beth finally let go, she had tears in her eyes.
“Crap, now I have to go fix my makeup,” she said, and she and her mom hurried back upstairs.
“Do we need to have a talk?” Mr. Anderson asked when we were alone.
“Honestly, if we were finishing up college, I’d ask her to marry me,” I confided in him. “I think I’ve always loved her. I also know we’re a long way from that day, and I hope you know that my intentions are only honorable towards your daughter. You should be proud of the woman she’s becoming.”
I’d just shocked him twice in one night. Our parents were very close, especially our moms. If I’d been twenty-one, I would have fulfilled their dreams. The object of my affection came back down, and we took some pictures. I looked at the time and saw we needed to get going to make our reservation. I took Beth’s hand and led her to the car.
I hadn’t been to this restaurant before. Mom and Dad had gone there on a ‘date night,’ and loved it. I could see why when we were seated. It was a small, intimate setting. Everyone in the place was nicely dressed and seemed to be on a date. I was glad it wasn’t a lot of older people.
They had a nice menu featuring Southern Italian cuisine. I ordered a baked codfish with bay leaves and fennel, in a fresh uncooked tomato sauce. Beth tried ciambotta, a vegetable stew made with eggplant. Once we ordered, Beth and I caught up.
“I’m gone a few months and you surprise me with ‘I love you.’ What’s going on?” Beth asked.
“I’m sorry if you didn’t want to hear me say that, but when I saw you I just knew it was the truth.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to hear it, I do. I love you, too. It just seemed a little sudden,” Beth said, and then scooted next to me. “It’s me, tell what’s going on.”
I had no idea how much had been bottled up over the past three months. I just started talking about how alone I felt. One day I had all my closest friends and lovers with me, and the next everyone had left. I told her everything. Beth was the one person who would never judge me. I told her about my deepest fears about possibly losing Tami. I told her that Mom had told me she’d found someone: Simon.
I shared about having second lunch period and missing all my friends. Beth quietly questioned me throughout dinner about the freshman cheerleaders, Peggy, Tracy and even Pam. Someone had been keeping her in the loop.
Then she got to Nancy.
“I admit she’s the one girl I feel a strong attraction to. I’m not sure if it’s the challenge, or what. She’s one of the few girls I’ve ever had to work to get to go out with me. I think that’s why I invited her to spend Christmas Break with me.”
“How well do you know her?” Beth asked.
“I don’t know her very well, really. I’ve only been with her a handful of days. I think what I like about her the most is she doesn’t take any guff. She calls it like it is, and you know where you stand. She’s wicked smart. I also like that she’s older. She just seems to know what she wants and is going for it. In many ways, her being self-assured is a real turn-on. There are no games with her. I take that back; she can be playful and give as well as take it, but it just seems more honest than the games high school girls play.”
“Could it be she just has had more practice?” Beth asked.
I thought about it and nodded. I hoped that spending a couple of weeks with her would help me to get to know her better.
“What do you want out of life?” Beth asked.
“I want to play football. I think I have a legitimate shot at making it. I want someone I can love. I’d like to have a bunch of kids. Having Kyle around makes me realize I want to be a dad. I want to make a difference. I want to find something I’m passionate about.”
“What do you want right now?”
“To have fun, try new things and to live life without any regrets. I don’t want to look back and say, ‘I wish I’d done this or that.’ I’d rather say I wish I hadn’t done it because I’d at least be able to say that I had.”
Beth got a faraway look in her eyes and grasped my hand across the table. Then she looked me hard in the eyes.
“I wish we were the same age. I’d love to have you on campus with me and explore life with you. You make me realize what I’m missing. I’m spending all my time studying, and not out doing things.”
“Slow down, don’t take away that studying isn’t worthwhile from what I told you,” I warned her.
“You know what I mean, though. I know you spend a ton of time getting your grades and working out. All of that will pay off for you in the end. What I’m missing is doing crazy stuff like you going to a girls’ lingerie party.”
“Personally, I think you should steer clear of things like that,” I suggested.
She laughed at me. She knew me too well, and my near-phobia of sharing my girls with anyone else.
“I suppose you’ll suggest you come up to visit and help me with my needs.”
I bit my lip and, feigning surprise, gave her my biggest smile.
“Now we’re talking!”
“My friend, it warms my heart to see you smiling. You’re invited anytime you can get up to Purdue. Suzanne told me how you destroyed the girls at Northwestern. I think you’ll find Purdue girls are pretty hot.”