Doug and me…….the two coolest guys on earth. Ha!
Allie and I are cuddling on the couch, watching a movie. From downstairs. a door opens. “Okay, up there. Get your clothes on! Time to go!”
Allie smiles, shaking her head. Downstairs, we embrace, holding hands. She kisses me gently in front of Doug. He is silent, face neutral. “I had a great time,” I say.
“Me, too. It’s so cool to just hang out. Thanks, Douglas, you’re the best.”
He grins, but seems uncomfortable. Out to the car, I sit shotgun. The seat is so far back I can’t reach the dash. The silence kills me, so I start: “Thank you Doug. I mean it.”
A little car music, please………….
“Alison really put the crunch on me to cooperate. Glad she’s happy.”
“We really like each other, Doug.”
A sigh. “Yes, that’s obvious. She told me she was going to kiss you. My little sister is growing up.”
“Don’t worry, I would never hurt her. She’s my first girl.”
“You better not.” He gives me stern eyes, but tempers it with a grin.
“Doug, you know we’re doing this secretly, right?”
He nods. “And,” I say,”It’s good ‘cuz every time you turn around, Suzie likes Jimmy likes Sue likes Dave crap”
“That’s seventh grade. I don’t miss it. I told Allie about all that shit when she asked me. And–believe me, I’m in High school–these rich girls are nasty. Not so much the guys. Girls stab each other for fun.”
I sense an opening…….my conversation with Steve eats from brain to tongue. “So, how can we have fun? I want to take my girl for ice cream, share a soda, walk in a park, or just sit and watch tube like today. Can you take us places, like you did today?”
“So you can get her alone, huh?”
I don’t know what possessed me, but I guess he didn’t seem so threatening in real life. “Oh yea, sure. C’mon Doug, we’re seventh graders. We don’t fuck, we kiss.”
He swirls that around on the roof of his mouth. “You know, maybe I get what she sees in you.”
I decide to shut my fat mouth the last 5 minutes. we’re home….I reach for my stuff. He stops me. “We need to know each other better. Meet me same place Friday. Just you and me, I have an errand to do. Don’t fucking tell Allie, I’ll tell her later.”
Shocked, I nod.