That Boy (6 page)

Up in my room, I lie on my bed and close my eyes. My lips feel all tingly. In fact, I feel like we're
still
kissing. I think it's kind of like when you've been on a boat all day and even though you're off it, you still can feel it rocking.

I'm really looking forward to my date now.

When Phillip calls me at ten o'clock for our nightly phone call, I tell him I have a headache and am going to sleep. I don't want to ruin the way I feel with mindless conversation.

Danny, Phillip and I are sitting on the hood of Phillip's car in the parking lot of the baseball field, drinking and eating sunflower seeds. The salt's burning my lips, but it doesn't stop me from sucking it off the seeds. I had an early softball game, and then stayed to watch the boys' baseball game against Park City, a neighboring small town. Everyone else has left, so the lot is dark and deserted.

We
haven't left because we are
still
trying to figure out what we're going to do tonight.

We live in Westown, Nebraska. It's a small town, not far from Omaha. My parents say we are really lucky because we get the best of both worlds, small town life with big city amenities. Westown has an old downtown and a newer part up by the highway that goes through town. This little strip consists of your basic small town stuff: bank, bowling alley, ice cream store, and gas station. This is the area we cruise when there is nothing better to do.

Which is a lot.

Down the highway a little further are Johnny's Pizza, the high school, and the viaduct that takes you out of town.

Tonight there is a party at Billy Prescott's house, and a bunch of the guys on the baseball team are going up to Johnny's for pizza first.

It's a small town, and if we feel like going out those are our only real options.

Actually, that is not a true statement.

I mean there are an infinite number of places we could go and things we could do. We just say that because we like to complain that there is nothing cool to do around here. I am assuming that other teenagers say the same thing, even if they live somewhere amazing, like Paris or New York.

The problem tonight is the boys aren't motivated to go home and change.

And personally, I have no desire to go anywhere. I love hanging out with them.

Our backs are against the windshield, and we are staring at the brilliant stars. It's a clear, warm summer night and you can see millions of them.

Oh. In case there are any men out there freaking out about Phillip's paint, please note that we are sitting on a blanket to protect it.

Phillip loves his car.

It's a very nice car, although I forget what kind it is. But since it's blue, I really don't care. I mean if you are going to go to the trouble of having a car, shouldn't it be red?

Red cars are so sexy. I am so hoping for a red one soon. I
really
want a red Mustang convertible, but I'm sure I will get something boring and reliable, like a four door something or other.

I keep hinting to my parents about a car. I turned 16,
three whole months ago
.

But they say they have taken it under advisement.

I'm pretty sure that means no.

We are just sitting here, spitting seeds and chatting occasionally.

That's one of the things I love about hanging out with boys. They don't feel the need to fill every second with words and talk.

Like my girl friends.

Sometimes they talk so much, it makes my head hurt.

Speaking of girlfriends, it's Friday night.

Girl's night.

I'm truly breaking a cardinal rule by not being out with them. I'm pretty sure it's written in our town's laws that Friday night is girlfriend night, and Saturday night is date night. Kind of like in the movie,
Footloose,
where there is a stupid town law against dancing. You know what my favorite part of that movie is?

Well, duh, it's definitely not the dancing. I love her red cowboy boots. I mean I know I sort of live in the country, but I don't own
even one pair
of cowboy boots. Someday, I'm going to buy myself a pair of red ones, just like the ones in the movie. Hey, they could match my red car!

Sorry. Where was I?

Oh yeah.

I sort of had to lie to Katie and Lisa about what I was doing tonight. I couldn't really tell them I was just hanging out with the boys. They would've given me a hard time. Besides, they were going to a party some Park boys invited them to, and I thought
that
could only lead to trouble. And since I'm lobbying so hard for a car, I have to be responsible. I have been very responsible lately and have not gotten grounded in four months.

Which is like a record for me.

And I'm really quite proud of this accomplishment.

Besides, even though it's supposed to be
girlfriend
night, all they want to do is go out and look for boys. Or talk about them. Why can't it be friend night, and why do girls think they can only be friends with other girls?

The only time my friends have any interest in being a boy's friend is when they have their sights set on him as a boyfriend. First, they pretend to want to be his friend, so he will notice them. And sometimes they even do become friends, but once they accomplish that, they will try to make him their boyfriend.

I don't get it.

Danny finally breaks the silence. “So you're missing girl's night out, huh, Jay?”

“What exactly do you guys do anyway?” Phillip asks.

“Usually drive around town and look for cute boys.” I reply.

Danny wonders, “Then how come when we drive around looking for you, a lot of times we can't find you? It's like you're no where to be found.”

“Well, sometimes we go to other towns and shop for imports.” I grin.

“Imports?” Phillip questions, as he spits a seed.

“Yeah, that's what Lisa and Katie are doing tonight. Going to the party in Park. They're not happy with the current supply of boys here, so they're shopping for imports. Get it?”

“You know, I've heard them say that before, but I always thought you guys were looking at like BMWs,” Phillip says, shaking his head.

“You would.” I say, rolling my eyes.

“Girls are goofy.” Danny states. “And I thought Katie was dating Neil.”

I shrug. I have no answer for that. Cuz she is. But she was seriously crushing on the cute third baseman from Park City, so she was hoping sparks might fly at the party tonight. And then, Neil will probably be history. Which is too bad. Neil is a sweetheart.

“So let me get this straight,” Phillip says wisely. “On Saturday night you go out with your
boyfriend,
and on Friday night you go out and look for your
new boyfriend
.”

“That pretty much sums it up,” I say. “Or try to see what your current boyfriend is up to.

You never know, he could be out with another girl. Speaking of that, Danny, did you tell Tiffany you would be hanging with
me
tonight?”

He shakes his head no.

“I didn't think so. But I understand because that's the thing with girls, you could tell them you're gonna hang out with me, and it would turn into one big jealous mess. Phillip, your girlfriends always get mad at you about that. It's just easier not to tell them, they tend to be
so
dramatic. I mean either they are crazy in love, or terribly jealous, or got dumped, or can't get the guy they like to notice them. And God forbid, if he finally
does
notice her and they get together and have a one night stand, and then he doesn't call and they feel even worse.”

I don't say it because this is top secret girl knowledge, but this happened to Lisa recently. This older guy, she had been crushing on forever, talked and flirted and kissed her at a party, then offered to take her home. I tried to tell her not to go with him, but she didn't listen. And of course, they went parking, and she was a little drunk, and, uh, well, things happened. One night stand kinds of things. Losing her virginity kind of things. Then he never called. She has been beating herself up about it for weeks. So I'm hoping she will meet a nice cute boy in Park City to restore her faith in men.

“Whoa,” Phillip says, suddenly very interested in what I'm saying, “go back to the one night stand part.”

“Yeah,” says Danny. “Who's having one night stands, and why aren't they having them with Mac and me?”

I can't help but laugh at Danny on that one, because he, well, I guess he's not a one night stand kind of guy. He's more the guy that you date for a week, fall in love with, have sex with, and three weeks later, it's probably over. And somehow, it's okay with you because you had three glorious weeks with him. And you would do it all over again. Typically, girls hate guys like this, they feel used or taken advantage of. But not Danny's girls. They all love him, even after he leaves them. Which leaves most of us wondering, how does he do it? I'm sure if we did an in depth investigation into this phenomenon, we would find out it's some kind of magic combination.

Killer Abs + Devil grin + Easy going, aw shucks attitude + Sparkle + Great arms + Amazing kisser + Star Quarterback + Dreamy blue eyes =
Irresistible
.

He is so cute.

“Jayyyyy,” Danny says, interrupting my thoughts. “Hello?? Pay attention. We are talking about one night stands.”

Shit. I can't tell them about Lisa. So I, uh, make up something.

“Oh, uh, well, maybe not one night stands, actually. I mean sometimes there is sex involved, but usually it's just that maybe there is an older guy they crush on, and he pays attention to her at a party and offers to take her home, but of course they end up parking, and she just does more with him than she planned, and then he never calls. Or even worse, he's a total gentleman, and they just talk and kiss, and she thinks he's the ONE, and then he never calls. All I am trying to say is that when I go out with them, we can't just sit peacefully on the hood of a car, staring at the sky and enjoying life. They are always stressing and obsessing about something. They dissect every conversation, every stare, every word.”

“You're a girl, and you're not like that.” Phillip tells me. “Maybe you need some new friends.”

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I think that they're probably normal, and that
I'm
just weird.”

“Yeah, well we know that,” Danny teases and then pelts me in the face with a wet, just from his mouth, sunflower seed, “but we love ya anyway, Jay.”

What a game!

What a close, exciting, exhilarating game!

Danny was amazing!

We were behind by a touchdown at half time, but ended up winning by 6! And Danny won the game practically single handedly! There were only two minutes left in the game when Coach called a quarterback sneak. Danny ran through the line, broke the huge linebacker's tackle and went running 40 yards down the field. He was dodging tackles, dragging guys behind him and twisting out of their arms. It was an amazing run, and we all thought he was going to score, until we saw the safety, barreling sideways across the field and ready to hit him at the 5-yard line. Danny was not to be stopped though. He put his left arm out and his shoulder down and ran right over the guy and into the end zone.