Chapter 27: Veiled in Curtains of Ethereal Light

Coach Pick spent a lot of Saturday with my family and me. He came to the house about ten o'clock in the morning to meet my parents and my brothers, driving up in a rental Buick. He talked about Gainesville and north central Florida, about the University of Florida, and about his soccer teams. He left just before lunchtime, to go talk to another family about an hour away, but he promised to be back in plenty of time to go out to dinner with us.

"You know, in Florida it's pretty darned hard to get a good steak," he said. "I took the liberty of making reservations at that there Great American Steakhouse, down in the city. I hear it's a pretty good place."

"Well, yes, it's probably the best steakhouse around," confirmed my father.

"Well, good an' all, then. I'll be back to pick you all up around six-thirty, then, and we'll head on down there for a big, juicy steak." He shook my dad's hand with great enthusiasm, winked at my mother, and patted me on the back. "If you all can think up any more questions to ask of me, well, let fly tonight. Okay?" And with that, he was out the door and on his way to his car.

I had to scramble to let Jake and Kayla know that I wasn't going to be available tonight. I hoped Kayla understood my having to break our date better than the last couple of girls did. Then, on the other hand, tonight I wouldn't be making the same kinds of mistakes I did with the others.

I called the Lehigh house. Jake had already left for his football game, but Kayla was still home.

"Hi," I said.

Even over the phone lines, I could hear the smile in her voice. "Hi, Sean," she said.

"Uh... Kay, I... uh... I have to postpone our date tonight."

There was a brief silence at the other end. "Okay," she said. The smile in her voice was considerably diminished, which distressed me.

"Look, Kay, I'm really sorry, but the coach from the University of Florida is here, and he's taking us all out for dinner tonight, and..." I paused, a thought occurring to me. It didn't happen often, so it surprised me every time one came along.

"And?"

"And I'm an idiot," I said. "Why didn't I think of it before? Why don't you come to dinner with us, Kay? We won't be able to go to the movie with Jake, but we'd still be together, even if it means having to spend time with my parents and my brothers."

The smile was back. "Okay," she said happily. "I'll just clear it with my mom, but I'm sure it'll be okay." She dropped the phone with a clunk, and I heard her voice fade away as she started yelling for her mother through their house. A few minutes later, she came back on the phone, a little breathless. "Mom says okay." She giggled. "She also asked if you and I were an item."

"An item? Like, a couple?"

"Yeah, I guess that's what it means. It's parent-speak for going out together, I think. Anyway, I told her that we were just friends hanging out together. I think she knows that's kid-speak for 'an item', though."

"Well, now you've got me wondering. We've actually only been on one honest-to-God date. Are we an item?"

She hesitated. "I don't know," she said cautiously. "Are we?"

"Well, a lot of the team thinks we are," I said.

"And a lot of my friends think we are, too," she replied.

Silence. "Kayla? I know we've never talked about this, and maybe it's too early, but would you consider going with me? Being my... 'item'?"

"Your item? I'm not sure I want to be known as an... item."

I was finding it hard to gather enough saliva to swallow the lump in my throat. "Well, then, how about my girlfriend?"

"You mean, like, exclusive?"

"Well, yeah, I guess. Uh... Wait a minute, no, I don't guess. I know. Yes, my girlfriend, exclusively, you and me."

"You mean I won't be able to see Bronson anymore?" There was a hint of a teasing tone in her voice.

"Bronson? Oh, you mean..."

"You know very well who I mean," she said.

"Well, right. I mean, yeah, no more Bronson."

"Okay," she said brightly.

I finally was able to swallow the lump. "Okay? That's great. So you'll tell Brandon you won't go out with him anymore?"

"I don't need to," she said softly. "I already did, two weeks ago."

We took two cars downtown, because of the number of people that were going to dinner. My parents and my brothers were in my dad's car, and I rode with Pick as I directed him over to Kayla's house. I walked up to the front door and knocked, and Mr. Lehigh opened the door and ushered me inside.

"Hello, Sean," he said, pipe in hand. He gestured breezily toward the sofa in the living room, inviting me to sit down.

"Hi, Mr. Lehigh."

"So, Kayla tells me she's going to dinner with your family and a scout from a school somewhere in Florida?"

"Yes, sir. It's actually the head coach of the University of Florida. A friend of mine named Jesse Wilhoit is playing on his team, and Jesse suggested that his coach come talk to me."

"Well, that's good news," he said. "Isn't it a little soon for schools to be recruiting?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, sir. He's the only one I've talked to, though, so maybe it is early."

Kayla came down the stairs, wearing a little dress that left one shoulder bare, and fit her athletic body beautifully. My mouth went dry just looking at her as she walked into the room.

"Hi, Sean," she said quietly, fully aware of how I was staring at her. She kissed her father on the cheek, and I scrambled to open the front door for her as she slipped on a heavy cloth coat.

"Have fun, kids," called out her dad as we walked down the sidewalk to Pick's rental car.

Kay scooted over to sit in the middle of the two of us. Pick shook her hand as I introduced them, and we were off.

By the end of dinner, Pick and my dad were acting like old, long lost college pals. My mom was watching their antics, occasionally shaking her head and smiling. Michael and Stephen were most interested in eating as much as they possibly could stuff into themselves, and I could only concentrate on Luscious Kayla, sitting next to me, her hand in mine under the table. After desserts and coffee, Pick paid the bill, leaving a very generous tip.

"Hell, I'm on an expense account on this trip," he said with a wink at my mom. "Might as well be generous with Gator money."

By the time we got back to our house, Pick had assured us that Florida would be sending me an offer sheet that included paid tuition, room and board for four years, subject to the usual physical exams, etc., etc., etc. It put a big smile on my dad's face, realizing that my college education was going to be paid by somebody other than him and my mom. Pick thanked us all for our hospitality, and promised me he would be keeping in touch. He even said he would try to come back for the state playoffs, if our team made it downstate.

I borrowed my mom's car, telling my family that we wanted to meet up with the gang down at Mike's Pizza. Kayla and I hopped in the front seat, but I knew Mike's wasn't my preferred destination, and I was hoping it wasn't Kayla's, either. When I turned onto the highway away from the pizza restaurant, she gave me a grin and sidled up close to me, her arms around mine.

It was cold out, even for late October, and it was starting to drizzle as we drove aimlessly for a few miles. I happened to find myself driving along the country lane toward the Gallagher's barn, where the shell of the Junior Class Homecoming float probably still sat. I pulled into the small parking area, and shut off the lights, leaving the car running so the heater could keep the interior warm for us. The drizzle was turning to indications of the first snow of the season, but it was very light, and it was melting as soon as it hit any surface. I fiddled with the radio until I found a station playing some mellower music, and turned it down low.

I turned to the lovely girl sitting beside me, and put my arm around her, drawing her closer to me. She looked at me in anticipation, her lips slightly parted, her eyes half closed, and I succumbed to the unspoken offer, bending down slightly to kiss her. At the first contact of our lips together, she moaned softly, surrendering to me. Her coat was unbuttoned, and I slipped my hand around her waist, along the silken material of her dress. She crossed her leg and gently rubbed her foot against my shin as we kissed, and she melted even closer to me, her lips moving against mine in sensuous pleasure.

I kissed her soft lips, and covered her cheeks, her neck, her ears, and her eyes with soft touches with my lips. She lifted her head and closed her eyes, giving in to the sensations, offering up her tender throat to my searching lips. When I reached the hollow of her throat, she whimpered, and shrugged out of her coat, reaching for my jacket to push it off my shoulders. I stopped kissing her just long enough so we could toss our coats into the back, and we reached for each other again, melting back together into a hotter, moister kiss, this one a tasting and teasing exploration involving lips and tongues.

With one hand wrapped around her neck and grasping her bare shoulder, I moved my left hand back around her waist to her tummy, the palm gliding along the slick material. My fingers slid along the material, heading toward the rise of her small breast, until I gently held that handful, feeling the shape of her through the dress and her strapless bra. I caressed her that way, feeling, through the layers of material separating her skin from mine, her little button-like nipple expand. She twisted in my arms slightly, giving me access to her back, the location of the zipper holding her dress together. I took the hint, abandoning the desirable mound of her covered flesh to work the metallic tab down from her shoulder blades to her waist, releasing the tension of her dress around her body.

My hand encountered the bare flesh of her back, and my internal temperature notched up a few more degrees. I caressed the soft skin of her back, and drew a path around her side, taking the material of her dress with me, and moved away from her just enough for her to slip her left arm through the sleeve, allowing the material to fall to her waist. She stared at me, her mouth slightly open as she breathed heavily, and I put my arms around her again, and kissed her eyes and her lovely lips again.

When I slipped my hand beneath the elastic bottom of her bra and cupped her naked breast, she moaned into my mouth, and thrust her tongue hard and deep into my mouth, sending streamers of white-hot pleasure shooting into my brain. Her distended nipple felt like it was etching a pattern in my palm, and I never wanted it to disappear. I drew my hand across her chest, under the bra, and held her other breast in my hand, feeling its pliant flesh and hefting its small weight, warming and branding my palm just as the other one did.