6. CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 6
ARI
I got invited to the sophomore dance at the end of the school year. I only accepted because Harris Winkler is kind of a runt and I could totally take him if he tried anything. He’s about an inch shorter and weighs probably ten pounds less than me soaking wet. He’s also got a mouthful of braces and a pitchy voice that most of the other boys grew out of a year ago.
Lena was strangely excited when I told her about the dance, even offering to take me to a secondhand shop to look for a dress. We picked out an emerald green gown that was maybe worn for a wedding, and Miss Vida took in the sides and shortened it, and pulled it in around the bust so it fits me just right. It has spaghetti straps and a fitted bodice, flares out around my ribs, and comes to about my mid-shin.
I’m standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom with Lena behind me, wrapping a lock of my hair around the curling iron, when she asks, “You nervous?” I shake my head. Then nod. “Your first dance … It’s kind of a big deal.”
“Actually, I’m more nervous that Axel’s going to ruin it tonight. Whether he’ll be mad if I come home too late, or—”
“Don’t worry about Axel,” Lena interrupts as she parts my hair to the side and pulls some of it into a braid. “I told one of the guys he works with to take him out for drinks tonight. He’ll either be out or passed out when you get home.” I make eye contact with her in the mirror, and she winks at me.
Lena fastens my braid with a few pins, then hoses me down with hair spray. When the air clears, she claps her hand together, making me jump. “OK! Let’s check the time!”
The clock in the living room says it’s five minutes past seven. “He said he’d be here at seven to pick me up,” I say. “He said his brother would be driving … What if he’s not coming?”
“He’ll be here,” Lena assures me. “He’s probably trying to play it cool by being fashionably late.” Just then we hear the roar of an obnoxious muffler, and a muscle car pulls into the driveway right behind the broken-down Accord. No one gets out.
“Maybe I should just go out there,” I suggest, but Lena shakes her head.
We wait. After a moment, the horn beeps. “Please, just let me go out there before this becomes a thing,” I plead.
Lena sighs and waves me toward the door before we head out together. The back passenger-side door opens as we walk down the steps. “Arlene!” Harris yells from inside. “Come on, we’re going to be late!”
Lena curses next to me. “Is this kid for real?”
Yes. Yes he is for real, and I’m going to walk with him into a room full of people I hate and spend the next few hours hovering around the edges of the school gym crippled by anxiety and this is all just my worst nightmare. What was I thinking?
I go to take a step, but stop when I hear the slam of a screen door. “Ari!” Ethan comes jogging my way from his house. He’s wearing athletic shorts and a T-shirt, and he’s barefoot. When our eyes lock, his step falters, and he pauses for just a second before making his way to us. “You look beautiful, Red.” He gives me a lopsided smile and pulls me into a hug, then steps back and looks at me again. “Seriously, you look absolutely stunning.”
“She does, doesn’t she?” Lena stands off to the side, arms crossed over her chest.
I look down at my feet and mumble “thanks.”
A whistle comes from inside the car and all three of us jerk our heads in that direction. “Earth to Arlene, let’s go!”
“Is this douche canoe for real?” Ethan places a hand on my upper arm to keep me from walking in that direction.
“I asked the same thing!” Lena pipes up.
“You stay put until he comes out and gets you,” Ethan orders.
I bury my face in my hands, already wanting this night to be over.
Finally, Harris climbs out of the car. He’s wearing a red and black checkered suit with some sort of sequins or bedazzling on the lapels, and his too-long hair is slicked back. He looks like an absolute idiot.
Ethan coughs to hide his chuckle.
“What’s taking so long?” Harris asks, arms outstretched. “C’mon. Let’s go.”
I go to take a step, but Ethan stops me again. “Notsofast,” he says in a rush. “What time are you going to be home?” he asks my date.
Harris looks up at Ethan, who is a solid foot taller than him and twice as wide. “I dunno. But Brody says he has a date at ten tonight, so before then. Unless, of course, things are going good …” He clicks his tongue and points finger guns at me.
Ethan reaches out and places his palm against Harris’ forehead, gently pushes him out of the way, then stalks around to the driver’s window and motions to roll it down.
Oh, God. Just kill me now.
“You Brody?” Ethan asks.
I hear a low, “Yeah,” and then the unmistakable sound of snot being siphoned up the sinus cavity and spit out, and a wad of mucus flies out the window.
Ethan looks up to the sky and says to the Heavens—and to himself, “Just stay cool. Stay cool …” He leans in the window and addresses Harris’ brother. “You’ll have them home by ten, yes?”
The guy must nod, because Ethan walks away and approaches me, placing a hand on my back and guiding me toward the back of the car. He simply points at Harris and then at the open door, and Harris takes the hint and ducks in.
I look at Ethan, who is staring at me. “As impossible as it may be considering the company you have tonight, try and have some fun, Red.” He leans in and kisses me on the top of the head before ushering me into the back seat, then gently closes the door and knocks on the hood.
“Finally!” Harris cheers as Brody peels out of the driveway and hauls ass down the road.
When we get to the dance, Ethan’s words ring true. Having fun is pretty much off the table. The school gymnasium looks like fairies threw up all over it. Pink and green and gold streamers hang everywhere. And there are cheap crepe paper table toppers that keep falling onto the floor amid gold and silver confetti. What started out as a rainbow balloon arch to take pictures in front of has popped its way down to a sad little half-horseshoe of deflated rubber.
I sit on the bleachers as Harris holds court in front of a group of equally dorky friends in the middle of the dance floor. He hasn’t once asked me to dance. And that’s fine by me. I would rather gag myself with the ladle from the punch bowl.
It’s 8:59. I’m more than halfway through this awful experience. All I have to do is last another hour, and then I can go home and write a letter to my mom to describe this horrific tradition that has lasted decades.
It won’t even be a long letter. All I have to write is, “Teen dances are the absolute worst. Ever.” Done. End of letter.
And I can’t believe I thought I might want to kiss Harris. A shudder rolls through me at the image. At this rate, if he even leans into me, I’m gonna throat-punch him.
I check the clock again: 9:03. Only fifty-seven minutes to go.
ETHAN
Pacing the living room has left a well-worn track in the carpet.
It’s 9:54. That little twerp better have Ari home in six minutes or he’s a dead man. God, he called to her from the car like a freaking dog. I should have flicked his nuts for that. If he even has any.
I wasn’t going to go outside when Harris picked her up, but when his brother beeped the horn for her, I nearly launched a carton of eggs at his car.
I’m so stupid, giving Ari that little speech about having a first kiss. Now she’s going to go out and try to make it happen with that Little Richard wannabe. She can’t kiss him! He’ll cut her face to shreds with that metal mouth of his!
My fingers scratch down my face as I check the time again: 9:58.
The sound of that obnoxious engine coming down the street startles me, and I jump onto the couch and peer over the back of it. Using my fingers to dig a hole in the blinds, I try to see into the darkness.
I hear a car door open and shut. But I don’t hear the house door, nor do I hear the engine rev up again. Tugging the string on the side of the window to pull the blinds up, I smush the side of my face against the glass and close one eye, catching sight of Ari and the little doob climbing into the back of Axel’s broken down car.
Oh, hellll no!
Still barefoot and in my gym shorts and T-shirt, I stomp down the front steps. Lingering by the front walk, my feet shuffle as I pretend I’m inspecting the dead hanging flowerpots. Glancing toward the car, I see Harris’ hands moving around animatedly while he talks. Ari looks bored as all hell.
Making my way a little closer, now checking out the overgrown rose bush halfway down the walk, I look over my shoulder and see Harris has his arm over the headrest of the back seat, behind Ari’s head. Air blasts out through my nostrils in a heavy stream.
Taking a few more steps toward Ari’s driveway and craning my head upward as if I’m looking at the constellations, I glance at the car one last time and see Ari leaning away as the little dipshit leans toward her, lips pursed.
Nope! No way. Not gonna happen.
I skip over in two strides and tap my knuckles on the window. When the door doesn’t immediately open, I do the honors, reaching inside, grabbing Harris by the scruff, and pulling him out of the car. Ari immediately scurries out the other side.
“What the—” he starts.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” I feign sympathy, placing a hand on my chest. “Did I interrupt something? It’s just that, well, it’s ten and your ride is about to turn into a pumpkin.” I drag him up to his car where his brother is making a graveyard of cigarette butts outside his window.
Opening the back passenger side door, I push the little turd inside, slam the door, and knock twice on the roof of the car. His brother takes the hint and peels away. Brushing my hands together and turning around, happy with the outcome, I find Ari standing, hands on her hips, lips smashed into a hard line, boring a hole in my face with a stare that could bend steel.
“What?” I ask innocently.
She lets out a half-growl, half-shriek and slams her little clenched fists against her sides.
I put my hands up in front of me and shrug. With eyebrows raised and mouth agape, I ask her again, silently this time … What ?
“You are maddening, Ethan James!” She stomps a foot that kicks up dirt around her legs.
“Me?!” I stab my thumb in my chest.
“You’re the only Ethan James here, aren’t you?”
“What … How … I’m out. I don’t know what questions to even ask.”
“OK, let me take it from here.” Ari takes a step toward me then stops, resting one hand on her hip. The other she holds up in front of her in a fist, popping out her thumb. “First, you embarrassed me when my date came to pick me up tonight.”
“That abomination of the male species cannot be considered your date,” I interject.
“Second”—Ari flicks her pointer finger out, without letting me finish—“you team up with Lena to continue embarrassing me which, what was that all about? When have you ever agreed with Lena on anything?”
“Well, she was right! That guy was not for real—”
“Third”—Ari’s middle finger joins her thumb and pointer—“you go all dad mode on me and act like no one is good enough for me.”
“That goober is definitely not good enough for you!”
“Fourth!” Ari adds her ring finger to her display of disdain for me, but half her pinkie comes with it on reflex, so she uses her other hand to keep it down. “You were the one who made me go on that stupid date in the first place!”
“How?”
“With your stupid ‘You’ll have a first kiss’ and ‘It’ll be awkward and magical and blah, blah, blah.’ ”
“Ari. I didn’t mean—”
“Fifth,” Ari splays her whole hand in my face.
“There’s more?” I pull my eyebrows up, eyes wide as we stare off.
“You gave me an unrealistic expectation for my first date.”
“How on earth did I do that?”
Ari lowers her hand and looks into my eyes, finally taking a moment to catch her breath. “You’re you,” she says softly. “You’re thoughtful. You always carry things for me. You always let me go first. You ask if I want more chips before Fonz finishes the bag. Whenever you get yourself a pop you always bring a can for me without even asking.”
I slowly lower my hands from my hips as she continues.
“You know when I’m uncomfortable around a crowd and you make sure to include me in conversation. And you’re, you know,” she waves a hand up and down my body, “not terrible to look at.” Ari blushes, and I may, too. “I guess I just thought maybe every guy would have at least some of those qualities, too.”
I let out a breath through puffed cheeks. “Let me guess, Hornball Harris wasn’t very thoughtful.”
She chuckles but there’s no humor in it. “No, not the least bit. He stood with a group of his friends all night making stupid jokes. He never got me any punch—even when he got his own and refilled it. He never even asked me to dance.”
My chest constricts. Why can’t this girl have anything go well?
“I’m gonna go in and change.” Ari takes a step away, but I grab her forearm.
“Wait. Come with me.” I give a gentle tug.
“Where are we going?”
Sliding my hand down her wrist until I get to her hand, I thread my fingers through hers. “Your date can’t end until you have a dance. It’s kind of a rule.” I pull her behind me and we take steps toward the back of my house. There’s a pathetic little concrete slab back here where a grill is set up next to it. A broken planter rests in the corner with a dead pink flower folded over and soil spilling out the side. Mom put up a few tiki torches in the spring in case her and Dad ever wanted to come hang out at night. But that hasn’t happened so I’m sure they still have some oil left in them.
“Stay right here.” Stepping over to the grill and searching for a lighter, I cheer “Aha!” when I find one, then walk over and light one torch, then the other. “‘ Not a total betty but a vast improvement.’” I swivel around and point at Ari, who rolls her eyes.
“ Clueless . Duh.” She looks around. “What are we doing?”
“We”—I take out my phone and find some music—“are going to have a dance. If you’ll have me.” A Carrie Underwood song starts playing as I step closer. “So, I haven’t actually done this too much myself.” I take one of her hands and place it on my shoulder, then take the other in mine and pull her in closer, resting a hand on her hip.
“Could have fooled me.”
We sway a little as the song croons on about a firefly glow before Ari speaks up. “I don’t think this is really dancing.” I stiffen, embarrassed by my apparent lack of skill, but then see a glint of mischief in her eyes. “Spin me,” she says.
It takes me a beat to catch up, but then I pull back at the same time I give her hip a little push and extend my arm all the way as she steps back and spreads her arms wide, then twirls back toward me and—surprising me—scurries under my arm. I have to turn and quickly change hands as I catch on to what she’s doing. Just as suddenly, she boomerangs back into me.
The squeal that leaves her sends chills up my spine. That, mixed with the smile on her face—zero concern for her broken tooth—and the gleam in her eyes is a look I commit to memory.
Just when she thinks we’re settling back into each other, I say, “Again,” and push her back out.
We spin and twirl, and laugh and dance through several songs. Sometimes I twirl her behind me, sometimes she spins out in front of me. Once I even dip her. Finally, when we are both breathless from spinning and laughing and giddy from smiling so hard, I pull her into me and refuse to let go. Ari curls an arm around my shoulder as I hold her hand against my chest. My other arm is wrapped around her back, pulling her into me as we sway.
There’s a moment between songs when all we can hear is the crickets chirping in the grass, the wind slipping through the trees and our own breathing. I hope to hell Ari can’t hear my heart pounding. She’s got to be able to feel it.
I pull her closer, resting my temple against the top of her head. Breathing in, I get a whiff of citrus and floral. Ari shifts her head a little, and I rub the side of my face against hers like a friggin’ cat in heat. What are you doing, Ethan?
Ari giggles. So of course I do it again. And again, she giggles. “Gosh, when did you get scruff?” She raises her hand from my shoulder and runs the backs of her fingers against my jaw. “You shave?”
“Yep! Have been for a few years now.”
“Really!?”
I chuckle. “Why is that so surprising?”
“I dunno.” She returns her hand to my shoulder and rests her head against my collarbone. “It shouldn’t be. I mean, clearly, you’ve grown up.”
I weigh that for a second. “How so?”
I can tell she’s rolling her eyes without even looking at her. “Oh, please. You’ve grown like two feet since I met you. And you’ve got muscles for days.” That makes me laugh. “What, do you deny it?” She pulls away to jab a finger in my abdomen. “I mean, look at these things! They could hurt somebody.”
The mix of her finger tickling my stomach, the playful banter and, I’ll admit it, the fact that Ari notices me gets me drunk. Slipping one arm around her waist and pulling her in, without thinking about it, my other hand cups the back of her neck and guides her so our foreheads are touching. We both swallow, and our breaths mingle hot against our skin.
Careful … she’s your best friend.
“Ethan,” Ari says quietly, but because we are so close, it sounds like a chorus.
“Yeah, Red?”
She tips her head up, and our noses run along one another. “You’re not the only one who has grown up, you know.”
I close my eyes and swallow hard. “Believe me, I know.”
The music picks back up and the haunting intro to Kenny Chesney’s “Come Over” filters through the air. “So, I was thinking …” Don’t do it, Ethan “… I could help you out with, you know, your first kiss. If you wanted to.” I lick my lips and quickly continue. “I mean, it would just be for experience. And just this once, since we’re best friends, and all.”
She doesn’t reply.
“Never mind, it was a stupid idea. Just forget—”
“Ethan.”
I swallow hard. “Yeah?”
Looking at me, into me, through me, Ari whispers, “Kiss me.”
With my forehead resting against hers, I bring my other hand from around her back and slide it up her shoulder until I’m cradling her neck. “You sure?” I ghost my lips over her cheekbone.
“Yes, I’m sure.” Her voice is shaky as her hands fall to the sides and rest on my hips.
I step into her and kiss the tip of her nose, her forehead, her other cheekbone. “This won’t change anything, right?” I dip and slide my dry lips over the corner of her mouth. “You’ll still be my best friend?”
“Always.”
I lock eyes with her and a beat passes before I finally press my lips against hers. I let the pressure sink in for a moment, then slowly move my lips, moving hers along with mine. Pulling away just a fraction of an inch, our bottom lips sticking together, I then press back into her mouth, slowly sliding the tip of my tongue against the seam of her lips, and she practically whimpers.
But then she opens the lightest bit and lets me in.
Hummingbirds race up and down my spine at the feeling. I open my mouth more, bringing her lips along with mine, and nearly faint when her tongue comes to dance with mine. Then she giggles, and I pull back a tiny bit. “What?” I kiss the corner of her mouth. Then the other.
“It feels …”
“How does it feel, Ari?” My stubbly cheek runs along her smooth one. Her eyelashes flutter against my skin.
“Good. It feels really, really good.” To my utter shock, turns her head and initiates the next kiss. She pulls my hips into her, but I don’t think she even knows it. I know we should stop, but I don’t give a damn because this kiss is everything.
Sucking her bottom lip between my teeth, fireworks, lightning bolts, tsunami waves, and freaking alien missiles fire off inside me. I’m curled over Ari, kissing the life right out of her, nibbling on her face as her hands fist my shirt, when I pull back suddenly, resting my hands on her shoulders.
Ari pops her eyes open. “Did I do something wrong?” she asks, panting.
My head shakes. My hands shake. “No. No, Red. You definitely didn’t do anything wrong.”
Damn, why am I out of breath?
“Oh, OK. You pulled away, so I didn’t know if you didn’t like it.”
I chuckle, wiping a drop of spit from her chin with my thumb, and use that same thumb to wipe my own lips. “No, Ari, I liked it very much.” Taking her face in my hands again, I kiss her forehead, then her lips quickly. “But I think it has to stop before we both go into cardiac arrest.”
Keeping one of her hands in mine, we round the side of the house and start crossing over her gravel driveway. Halfway across, I feel a tug on my hand and turn to find Ari rooted in place.
She points at my bare feet. “You don’t have any shoes on, and you’re walking across the pointy rocks and you’re not crying about it hurting your feet.” A smile stretches across my face as I realize she’s making fun of me. “Ethan,” she drawls dramatically, placing a hand over her heart, “are you getting used to running around barefoot with me?”
“Yes,” I quip. “Thanks to you, the bottoms of my feet are turning into leather. I will soon be barefoot in the creek letting crayfish nibble on the webbing between my toes. Are you happy?”
This time it’s not a giggle that escapes her mouth, but a full-on laugh that she tries to muffle with a hand but is unsuccessful. Tears escape the corners of her eyes.
“Yeah, OK. Laugh it up.”
“I’m sorry.” She wipes away the wetness streaming down her face.
I join her in laughing at my sorry ass, then grab her hand again and trudge toward her house. “C’mon. Get inside before Axel comes home and graces us with his presence.”
Her laughter subsides as she takes the first two steps up the stoop, then turns around and—because I’m still at the bottom of the steps and that puts us at about the same height—throws her arms around my neck, pulling me in for a hug. My arms automatically wrap around her middle.
“What’s this for?” My face is buried in her neck and hair, and again there’s that smell of citrus and flowers.
“For being you.”
We stand like that for a second before she releases me.
“G’night, Ari.” I take two steps backward and she stands in the doorway.
“Night!”
I turn to walk away, but only get two steps before I hear, “Ethan?”
“Hmm?” I turn around and look at her, standing in that beautiful green dress, the light from inside the house backlighting her like a halo.
“Thanks for being my first.”
Ari closes the door and I watch her make her way toward the hallway and disappear. “Thanks for being mine,” I say to the night sky.