Chasing the Boy

Chapter Fourteen

"Oh my God," Kate said in a hushed tone; she put a hand over her heart in a dramatic gesture and fell back in her chair. Ali and Nicky were likewise impressed. We were sitting in a booth at Howard Johnson's, sipping coffee and picking on our favorite dessert, Sophie's Chips. I had just finished recounting the "kiss" for them and the mere act of describing the event brought the flush back to my cheeks. I swear if I closed my eyes I could feel his lips on mine. I had to resist the urge to do just that.

Ali leaned forward, propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her folded hands. "Is he a good kisser?" she asked, a romantic look on her face. The others leaned forward too, hungry for details.

I closed my eyes, just for a moment. It had never occurred to me that Gregg might not be a good kisser. In fact, I was so caught up in my feelings for him that I probably wouldn't have realized if he weren't. I nodded in response to her question and murmured, "A huh."

"Did he ravish you?" Nicky asked, always wanting to get right down to the nitty-gritty. "Did his lust overwhelm you?"

I opened my eyes and gave her a look. Sometimes I wondered if she would grow up to write trashy romance novels.

"No," I said in a chastising voice. "It wasn't like that at all."

"Oh," she said, looking disappointed.

I sat forward. "It was so much better than that," I said in a low voice. "It was soft and slow and sweet and it's going to make me crazy every time I think about it." I closed my eyes again and felt a smile come over my face.

"What were his lips like?" Ali asked.

"Soft as velvet, silky smooth... like delicious, juicy peaches," I replied without opening my eyes. My friends squealed in delight.

"Well," Nicky finally said. "I think we need some water over here." I opened my eyes and saw Cheryl, our waitress, hurrying over with the coffee pot.

"More coffee, girls?" she asked, giving us a wink.

"No," Kate replied. "We need water and lots of it." Cheryl gave us a strange look before scurrying off to retrieve the pitcher.

"So what happened next?" Nicky questioned, dipping a Sophie's Chip into the hot caramel sauce. I stared at the gooey sauce and wondered why everything made me think of Gregg. I shook my head, snapping myself out of it.

"I left," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "I went home."

They looked at me, slack-jawed.

"What do you mean, you went home?" Ali demanded. She slapped her hand off the table with such force an old man sitting across the aisle looked at us like we were hooligans.

I shrugged my shoulders again. "What should I have done?" I asked. "He went inside to eat dinner. I wasn't going to follow him in like some little puppy."

"No," Nicky interrupted. "You did the right thing. You don't want to seem too eager, even if you can't wait to jump his bones."

Kate swatted her on her arm. "Be quiet," she said. "Jaime is not going to jump anyone's bones. I'm sure that, if it eventually comes to that, it will be a beautiful, romantic, life-altering experience and not at all on the same level as jumping someone's bones."
Nicky gave Kate a dirty look. "Oh, be quiet over there – don't be such a prude. Jaime knows what I mean. And I'm sure, if she were ever to be truly honest with herself, she would not be above a little bone jumping." She gave me a knowing look and winked.

Ali intervened. "The two of you, please be quiet. Let Jaime finish her story." She looked back at me. "Did he say when he was going to call you, or see you?"