Saturday, June 21 2:46 AM
Term of the Day: Acquiesce - To consent or comply passively.
New and Improved Secret Plan! You're all dying to know the details, I'm sure, and I apologize with all my <3 but -- I CAN'T TELL YOU. Why not? Think about it.
A certain person swears she hates blogs. It makes her squeamish to read someone's private stuff flashed "to the ends of the Earth". And yet, she comments on EVERYTHING I talk about here. She wants privacy? I'll give her privacy. But I'll give YOU a few clues ;)
Think swashbuckling. Think timbers be shivering. Think ooh, ooh baby.
One more hint? Nah, instead I'll leave you with a question. All this pirate stuff has got me wondering, is there something about the kind of boy who stands a half-step away from the pack ...the RoGuE ... the PiRaTe ...that makes you want him to swing down from the yardarms and whisk you off to sea while you just acquiesce? Primitive, I know -- but true? Does every girl want to be swept off her feet?
10:51 AM HA!
herbestfriend: So I read it. I don't want to. I don't like to. But I do. Be warned -- I know what you're up to. I will be on the lookout for any attempts at swashbuckling.
Rogues, however, are just fine with the rest of you:
princessbluesky: Do I want to be swept off my feet? Ohhhyeah!
ittybittykitty: Yo Ho! Count me among the pirate lovers. Of course, I'm not sure how an actual relationship would work out if your guy 's going to be swinging around, taking everything he wants without asking all the time?
flowrgrrl: Pirates ... Yaarrrr!
SK84U: Where can I buy one of those eye patches?
Hehehehe. I think this just might work.
It would be a lot easier to be a good girlfriend if a certain somewhat perfect boyfriend would not randomly eff things up. Case in point:
Q. What had Brady done ever since we got out of school?
A. Complain that we don't spend enough time together.
Q. What did I do in response?
A. Made plans to spend the entire evening with him (just him).
Q. And what did he do?
A. Told Jacob he'd go with him to the races, that's what.
Not that I was worried. I trust Brady. I think. And just because a boy is going to the races doesn't mean he's "going to the races". Madison, on the other hand, was certain Jacob had more on his mind than carburetors. Stupid boys.
5:36 PM What should two best friends do when their guys may or may not be hanging out with racy girls? One thing they should NOT do is sit around listening to sad songs and moping. NoNoNoNoNoNO!!
Instead, they should go to the coffee shop. They should drink chai and cappuccino until they get wired (or weird, either one will do). They should accidentally run into their two very best guy friends. If a little swashbuckling should occur *ahem* that wouldn't be such a bad thing either.
Despite the obvious perfection of this plan, I had to beg Madison to go. Plead even.
It wasn't much easier to talk Dave and Craig into meeting us. Craig was reluctant because he was leaving for vacation the next morning and still hadn't packed. Dave was reluctant because ... you know ... but in the end, they acquiesced.
That didn't mean Dave was his usual self that night. Nope. He was quiet at the coffee shop. I tried all the usual topics: music, video games, snack cakes, nothing worked. When he excused himself for the bathroom, I listened for the shrieking faucet, then developed a sudden urge to pee. As soon as he opened the door, I pushed him back inside the tiny room.
"Cat got your tongue?" I said. Gah. Why did I have to inherit my dad's bad cliché gene?
"Something like that."
"I can't believe you're acting this way. I mean, what is so terrible about talking to a beautiful girl? "
"It's not that," he said and frowned. "It's just ... It's hard to ... to pretend that I ... I ..."
I didn't want to go anywhere near what Dave might be pretending. But if I didn't, he might waste the best opportunity we had to set the world right again. I took a deep breath. "Look," I told him, "I'm not saying that I didn't ..." He held his hand up to stop me, "... feel anything the other night."
"I talked to my grandma today," he said.
Okay. Changing the subject could work too. "The one who taught you to golf?"
He flinched. For a second I still thought it was all about me, but then I read the sadness in his eyes and I knew it was something deeper. "Want to talk about it?"
Dave blinked hard and shook his head. Whatever it was, it mattered to him. A lot.
"You don't have to do this thing tonight," I said.
He swallowed and then his lips made that slow crawl over his teeth. His eyes found their target in mine. "Actually, Summer, I do," he said. That's when he winked, pushed open the door, and swaggered away. He turned back once to say, "Let's go play pirate."
Huh?
***
The air at the beach held a hot, expectant quality and dark clouds gathered on the other side of the lake. Madison sat cross-legged, lifting piles of sand and letting them slip through her fingers. Craig and Dave played a twisted form of tic tac toe. Me? I tried to be still and contemplate how to get the Secret Plan going before the storm rolled in.
Craig needed to step up. I leaned back and flicked pebbles at him to get his attention. "What?" he finally asked, but I couldn't say anything then because Madison turned her eyes in our direction. As promised, her swashbuckling sensors were on red alert.
Craig returned to his game and I went back to tossing pebbles. Every third one or so, he'd glance at me and I'd do my best to communicate with head bobs and neck twists until Madison looked over too, then I'd go all innocent. When I heard a rumble of thunder, I picked out a bigger stone and aimed for Craig's butt.
"You're askin' for it," he said, and crawled in my direction. I saw my chance, stood, and jogged a short way down the beach. Craig caught me, lifted me in the air, then dropped me back on the sand. He plopped down beside me and smiled. "Nice night," he said.
"It will be," I told him. Then I reminded him that pirating was more easily accomplished without an audience. He concurred. We stood again and tried sneaking away.
"Hey! Where you going?" Dave called.
The way I saw things, we had two options: Give up. Or. Run away. I grabbed Craig's hand and took off. We'd made it halfway across the beach when he jerked me to a halt. "Maybe we should try being honest," he said.
"Oh ... sure," I told him, between ragged breaths. Note to Self: Gymnastics camp will be here sooner than you think. Get on that running thing again. Soon.
Turns out Dave is a pretty good runner. Definitely faster than you'd think. He's not much of an optimist though. "This isn't going to work," he said, without breathing heavy at all.
"Yes it will. You two just have to gird up your loins." I pointed at Craig. "You. Go back and distract Madison while Dave and I ..."
"How?" Craig asked.
"Just don't be honest," I said, but then my occasional brilliance kicked in. "Or no," I told him. "Be honest, but be honest with her about Jacob. Tell her you want to talk to her about it privately because you care about her as a friend."
I knew Craig could do that. He has a way of making you see the way things really are without making you feel like an idiot for not ever noticing on your own. Meanwhile, I'd give Dave a pep talk. Lightning crackled in the distance. I pulled at Dave's sleeve. "C'mon, let's get a soda."
We walked to the cabana building, far enough away so Madison couldn't hear us if I had to get a little loud. I planted my feet and was about to issue a set of orders when Dave reminded me that the soda machine was on the other side. Oh. Right. I unplanted, circled to the back of the building, planted again, then put my hands on my hips to show I meant business. I waited for Dave to follow.
And waited. Where was that boy? I trotted around the corner and found him strolling along. "Sheesh, Dave, hurry." He picked up the pace then, but still. "Where'd you go?" I asked, when he finally made it back.
"I thought you said you wanted a soda."
"What?"
"I didn't have any quarters."
I know I've asked this before but really, what is it about me that makes boys turn stupid in my presence? I started to speak but when I looked at Dave, my mouth suddenly felt dry. I took his coins and fed them into the machine. When one rolled through to the change return, I turned to ask if he had another one I could try.
He was so close.
My eyes were level with his neck and I noticed the hair that grew there, a mix of downy fuzz and short, stiff sprouts. I remember wondering when Dave had started shaving, and when he'd grown so much taller than me. I looked up to gauge the difference in our heights and bumped my nose on his jaw. The stubble raked my cheek as he leaned even closer.
Dave's hands moved to my shoulders. His thumbs circled the bare skin there. His body closed the space between us, fitting almost snug against mine. He stopped then, and I knew what he was waiting for.
I lifted my face to his and saw him smile just before I closed my eyes. And then he kissed me.
I kept my eyes shut after, as if I could block out the rest of the world that way. We stood locked together, with my mind and my mouth tingling, my heart thump-thumping against his. I felt the vibration of his words as much as heard them when he spoke. "Was that swashbuckling enough for you?" Dave whispered.
Note to Self: You have a boyfriend. You should not let other boys kiss you.
A good girlfriend would have pushed him away, but alas, that's still not me.
Further Notes to Self: Even if you let other boys kiss you, they should not be boys you are trying to fix up with your best friend.
Instead of pushing him away, I pulled him closer.
Further, Further Notes to Self: Even if you let boys you are trying to fix up with your best friend kiss you, they should not be Dave Brown.
Then I slinked my hand between us so I could touch the silk and sandpaper of his neck. "I don't know," I told him. "Maybe we should try that again?"
And we did.
Twice.
I'm not sure how I got home. I know the rain came. There was lightning and there were words called out between thunder claps. I couldn't tell you what they were. The whole time it seemed like I was in a dream. I was still not sure any of it was real. The only person to check with was Dave. And I couldn't do that.
11:47 PM Bonus Term of the Day: Affect - To touch, feel or move.
I have a boyfriend. A perfectly terrific one who has never done anything to deserve his girlfriend kissing another boy, a boy who is a friend of his, and affecting more in those three kisses than in any kiss that ever came before.
Things I Love:
Dave Brown?
Things I Hate:
Dave Brown?
<3