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Before I knew it, school was out for Christmas break. It felt good to be out of Will Roger's and for the most part away from the rivalry between the east side and the west side. Darry had decided which school he wanted to go to and officially starts at Georgia State University on January 13.
It was Christmas Eve and Mom and I were in the kitchen prepping for dinner. Just like every other year, it was an intimate gathering, just some close friends of our parents, Dad's coworkers and the gang. Mom and I were currently putting the finishing touches on the cake. It's chocolate, anything else would be blasphemy according to Two-Bit.
"How're things going with that boy?" Mom questions as she mixes up the frosting.
I feel a blush rush to my cheeks. Bob and I had been going steady for a little over a week and so far, things were great. We still had our nightly meetings at Pershing Park and with school over, I stayed out later than usual with him. There were nights we found ourselves sneaking into the drive-in and hiding away in the darkened parts of the back row to be together.
"It's going real good," I say softly. "He's really sweet. We're working on getting him more comfortable being around this side of town without all of the hate, but first steps first."
She smiles and kisses my cheek as moves to frost the cake. "That's wonderful baby." She says softly, slapping a hunk of frosting ontop of the cake. "Love is worth every step."
"I don't know if I'd call it love just yet," I say honestly, turning the cake stand when she needed me to. "It's still so fresh and so new. I don't want to rush into anything just yet, and we have problems with each other that we need to work through. Like I said earlier, we're working on him being more comfortable with the greasers. He's working on getting me some friends who are girls."
Mom nods as she finishes icing the cake. "Go call everyone inside. It's time to eat, by the time the dishes are washed up, the cake will be ready."
I met Bob in Pershing Park after dinner, Mom helping me slip out our back door. Bob was leaning against his Corvette, his letterman jacket pulled over his shoulders and buttoned up to keep out the cold. I could make out the rings on his fingers glinting in the moonlight. A light dusting of snow was just starting to cover the ground, and I knew the ice would come next.
"Merry Christmas." I say softly as I approach him.
He turns towards me with a smile on his face, the smile that I love, his true, genuine smile. "Merry Christmas, Sunny." He says softly, taking my hand and pulling me into his chest.
I breathed in the scent of his expensive cologne with a smile, my arms wrapping around his midsection. I can feel his hands rubbing my back and arms to keep me warm.
"What do you want to do?" He whispers in my ear, sending shivers down my spine.
"Let's just drive. Anywhere... everywhere... Somewhere that isn't here." I tell him with a smile, looking up into his eyes. "Just as long as I'm with you."
Bob kisses my forehead and pulls the passenger side door open, helping me down into the car. It was much nicer than Dad's old beat-up truck, I couldn't help but run my hands over the smooth leather underneath me. Even the inside of the car smelled expensive. He climbs in and starts the engine before he slowly pulls out of Pershing Park.
We took off down the road, Bob playing whatever music was on the radio this late on Christmas Eve and I sang along softly, never taking my eyes off of the scenery that rushed passed us. I felt his hand take mine, neither of us turning to look at each other.
We stopped just over the border of Tulsa, pulling off to a little twenty-four-hour diner. We walked inside, hand in hand. Nobody here knew us, or the two sides of town we come from. It was nice to escape Tulsa. When we sat down across from each other in the red and white striped booth it dawned on me that this was our first real date, away from the dark park and late nights where no one could see us.
"What do you want?" He questions softly, taking my hand in his over the table.
I browse the menu with a smile. "Fries and a chocolate shake.... No whipped cream."
His eyebrows raise in amusement. "It's twenty degrees outside and you want a milkshake." He laughs. "You never fail to amuse me, Sunny."
I roll my eyes with a blush, placing my menu back down on the table. "You asked what I wanted and I told you, now hush up."
"Yes ma'am." He says with a smirk, causing my cheeks to heat up.
It was nice, the two of us sitting out in the open without worrying who saw us. We talked about anything and everything we could, not caring that we were being too loud or too impractical.
"We'll get a nice big house with a picket fence. Enough rooms to hold all of our friends for holidays. There'll be a pool outback, I've always wanted a pool. I'll work for a while until we have our first baby, and then I'll stay home to raise them. Maybe we'll get a dog too." I ramble, dipping my fries in the mixture of ketchup and mustard I'd created.
Bob's chin was resting on his hand as he listened to me. He hasn't interjected or asked me to stop, he just listens with a smile.
"We'll have our own little garden, something to keep me busy when the kids are napping and you're at work. My mom can come over and help when we need it, we'll buy her the house down the street."
He nods along with my words, his thumb slowly running along my knuckles. I never wanted to leave this diner. We were just two teenagers in love here. We weren't Sunny Curtis and Bob Sheldon, sworn enemies. It felt normal, relaxing even, not to have to look over my shoulder afraid that someone I knew was going to catch me.
Unfortunately, the night had to come to an end. We'd been in the diner for nearly four hours. We walked back to the car, hand in hand when he pulled me into his side and kissed the top of my head.
"Maybe next time I'll take you to a movie." He says softly. "Pershing Park isn't really romantic for a date." He said what I'd been thinking since we sat down.
"I like our dates just the way they are... nobody else but us. Yes, this was a nice change, but I don't need that to be happy with you."
He nods and pulls us to a stop, spinning around so I could face his chest. He places his hands on my hips, his thumbs tracing little circles on the fabric of my dress. "Can I tell you something?" He questions softly, licking his lips.
"Anything." I nod, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"I think I'm falling in love with you." He admits. "Hearing you talk about our future... I want to give you that more than anything. It gives me hope that we can move past what's back in Tulsa."
"I think I'm falling in love with you too, Bob." I smile, standing on my tiptoes to plant a soft kiss on his lips.
Before I knew it, we were back in Tulsa and he was dropping me off at the park. He holds my hands in his, placing a kiss to the backs of them. "Merry Christmas, Sunny." He says softly, dropping my hands to move a piece of hair from my eyes.
When his hand rests on my cheek, I lean into the feeling with a smile. "Merry Christmas, Robert Sheldon." I reply before I kiss him.
I climb out of the car and start my trek back to the house in a complete state of bliss. This must be what Ponyboy feels like when he's trapped in the world of whatever book he was reading. I never wanted this feeling to end.
