"So you got a damn boyfriend? I'm moving there right now, I swear," Jessie yelled through the phone. She was literally freaking out. We seemed to be little girls taking about boys during a sleepover.
"If my parents ever find out he has a record, they'll punish me for months."
"What do you mean by 'record'?"
"He was in jail a bunch of times. Steve told me."
"But this is the guy you been looking for so long. And finally you got him. Don't let him escape. Tie up his hands so he can't go."
"Haha. Yeah, that's one option. So bad he's stronger than me," I joked. "The thing is... Dreams and real life aren't the same. You remember Mary Murphy's role in The Wild One?"
"Oh, yes. This waitress in love with handsome Marlon Brando. I saw another of her movies yesterday. I gotta tell you about it..."
"Is Beachhead? I've seen it. It's okay. I loved this soldier who falls for her... Wait. What was I saying? She had this dream of a bad boy arriving to the town and walking in to order a coffee and take her away from there. I'm like her. Just, instead of a motorcycle, I wanted one with a tuff car. And now I got him! I don't want my parents to mess everything up. I'll sneak out if it's necessary to meet Dally."
"Ooo, so his name is Dally. Are you gonna tell me something more or do I have to take it out from you by hard?" she teased me.
"Okay. So Dallas Winston... He's 17. Has dark hair and eyes, mischievous smile, great muscles and he's tall. From New York."
"I'll rather go out with someone from California. The sea, beach boys, palm trees..."
"Hey, there's sea in the East Coast. I don't like them the surfer kind. Blondies, jocks, absorbing the sun rays all day long. No way."
"I know, I know. Well, sounds like your boy is incredibly hot and bad, huh? Now, have you kissed him?" she couldn't wait.
"Kissed, told I love him and made out. The full pack in a night," I said, proud.
"No way. You did? That really is going fast. Made out, you said?" she asked.
I nodded. "Yep. We made love in the backseat."
"I can't believe it. How come? I'm a year older; I should be with my boyfriends doing dirty stuff and I don't even got one! Your parents must be going crazy."
"I haven't told 'em yet. It's our secret."
"My mouth is shut, don't worry. It's nice to hear you are so fuckin' lucky when at first you didn't wanted to go to US."
"Hey, I didn't want to go to LIVE here. I never said anything 'bout not going on vacations," I told her. "I hope you can come visit me someday. You'll love this." I missed her a lot. She was the only girl out of my family who could bring a smile to my face simply telling me she had listened to a new Elvis' track or watched a movie and wanted to show it to me.
"Here all it's the same way as when you left. I'm taking care of the youngest kids pranking their teachers and getting lectures but we gotta have fun as long as we can. We are young! So go and meet your boy right now and go do something crazy."
"I'll do. See ya later, Jessie."
"Bye, girl."
I hung up the phone and stood up, picking up a few bucks on my way to the door.
"Carolina," my mother yelled from the kitchen. "Tu padre y yo ya hemos firmado los papeles. El lunes empiezas en el instituto Will Rogers." [Your father and I have signed the papers. You start in Will Rogers Highschool on Monday]
"Sí, lo que sea," I mumbled as I closed the door. [Yeah, whatever]
I walked all the way to Buck's. I could have asked Steve or any other at the Curtis' to drive me, but I wanted to be alone this time. I felt so lucky I couldn't believe this was happening to me. Life had treated me bad lots of times and now it seemed I was getting my sweet reward.
I knocked on Buck's door and a man wearing a shirt and jeans, with cowboy looks, opened it. He checked me up and down with his eyes. "Who are you?" he asked me.
"A friend of Dallas. Is he here?" I said, glancing at the inside of the building.
"No."
"And where then?" I insisted.
"There. You see the field behind the road? He's riding the Slash J. Practicing for the race," he finally said.
I looked at where he pointed and saw a large field with a stable. There was a brown horse running across the green grass. Its rider was a guy I could have recognized any time any place. He was Dallas.
I ran up to the field, across the road, and jumping over the wooden fence to get inside the place. I walked by the fence to the stable, carefully watching how Dally rode the horse. His body bounced lightly on the Slash J back, sometimes swinging to the sides when he made him turn around and head to the other end of the field. It was funny how Dally looked so concentrated for some minutes, riding the horse with studied elegance, and however he meanwhile managed to keep his tough attitude. He couldn't help it; toughness was running through his veins.
I spent some time looking at the horses they had there. Some were pretty nice but the Slash J was one of a kind. It was big, strong and reckless. I was sure the horse didn't want to lose a race too, like its rider.
I was caressing the forehead of a black one. I liked the way it looked at me. It had dark eyes as me and Dally, and gave me self-confident vibrations. I had once seen a horse with blue eyes. It may sound like a joke, but his looks really scared me. Its eyes were much lighter and weird.
An animal sound behind me made me turn around and forget what I was thinking. I saw Dallas, sat on the back of his horse, looking at me while he grabbed the reins. He jumped off the horse roughly and walked up to me to grab the back of my neck with a hand while he placed the other on my chin and kissed me in the lips. "How are ya doing, doll?" he asked. He was wearing a black tank top, dirty jeans and cowboy boots.
"My parents want to meet you," I announced. He suddenly stopped the kissing and looked me in the eyes. "Tonight. For dinner."
He pulled my back against a wall and ran his hands up and down my arms. "Fine."
I opened my eyes wide. "Fine? Dally, there's no way my folks accept you," I added, still astonished.
"And what? I don't fuckin' care. You gonna break up with me if they don't like me?" he asked.
"No, I'd never do that. But they can turn my life to be a hell if we keep going out when they say it's over. I'll sneak out just to see you, I promise. But if they ever find out... Instant death."
Dallas took a second to think, sighing. "So you tellin' me you want me to change for them?"
"No, no. Don't ever change, no matter what people tell you. I like you this way. It's just... I don't wanna think 'bout what they'll do to me after dinner."
"Well, man. Fortunately I know a medicine," he said, pointing at the horse I'd been staring at. The black one. I liked a lot that horse. "You rode before?"
"Yes, sir," I joked.
Dally smirked and hopped on the Slash J. He didn't bother to help me. If you're Dallas' girlfriend you have to manage to do things on your own. To prove you're independent. Luckily, I was.
I grabbed the reins of my horse, which Dally told me was called Gunshot, and rode near Dally. I kept laughing at the names Buck had given to his horses. They were nice.
"They ain't so funny," Dallas smirked.
"Say what you want. I called my 3 dogs Pluto, Tsar and Sultan," I told him.
"Don't tell Two-Bit your dog's name is Pluto. He won't stop talkin' about Mickey, man," he advised me. He chuckled and I ended up bursting out laughing after he told me how obsessed Two-Bit was.
"You sure don't wanna know anything before you meet my folks?" I asked him.
He shook his head. "Naw, I'll see. Why? Something I should expect?"
"Loads of food. You like pork ribs?"
He nodded, tilting his head a bit to the side. "Yeah."
"Then won't have problems," I laughed.
We spent the whole afternoon at times racing and then just riding in circles around the field. When he decided it was enough, he pulled me into the room he used to change clothes and we kissed and cuddled making sure no one could see us. Dally seemed embarrassed thinking of anyone finding him cuddling, but when he was alone and tired he liked that alright. He didn't tell me, obviously, but I guessed that by the look in his eyes. God, he was too handsome to be with someone like me. I never could see I was pretty or anything. I cannot tell staring at my own face since I see it every single day, but I guess it wasn't any bad if Dally had finally fallen for me. Well, he hadn't said "I love you." I didn't know if his love was true yet. Well, you didn't have to say you did to show it, huh?