I Secretly Liked It (A Sodapop Curtis Love Story)

Smiling Idiots

I couldn’t get his smile out of my head. It was perfect. I just finished eating ice cream with the children and it was time for them to go home. The children showed me the way to their house. When we reached the house, I saw their mother sitting on the porch.

“Hey!” I said.

“Hello! How were they?” She asks.

“They were fine.” I watched her kiss her children on their heads and tell them to go inside and eat their dinner. There was a part of me that started to ache. I know this doesn’t make since but, I was starting to miss the family that I can’t remember. I was also starting to feel guilty about lying to their mother earlier. I had to tell her the truth.

“I’m so sorry.” I say.

“What for?” A worried look filled her face.

“I lied to you. I didn’t just move here.” I told her how I woke up outside of town, not remembering anything.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” She asks.

“Well, I know that it was wrong but I really needed the money and you were in a hurry. I’m sorry!”

“Don’t be sorry. I may not be in the same scenario as you, but I know what it’s like to be alone. My husband was killed a month ago.”

“Oh my…I’m so sorry.”

“Stop apologizin sweetie! It’s alright.” She pulled me in and hugged me.

“We never got to introduce ourselves. I’m Nancy Miller.”

“Should I call you Mrs. Nancy?”

“Whatever you’d like darlin’. What is your name?”

“My name’s Marie.”

“Do you remember your last name?”

“No…”

“Do you have a place to stay tonight?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Tel ya what, until you remember who you are, and where you came from, I can be your second mother. I’ll watch over you and give you my last name if you’d like so you could apply for school.”

“You’d really do that?”

“We both could use some help. I figure that we could help each other.” She says, smiling.

“Thank you so much! I don’t know what to say.” She handed me some money.

“Just take this and get to where you need to be goin’ before it gets dark.”

“I can’t take this.” I say, handing her the money. She refuses to take it back and tells me to “go on now.” I hugged her one last time and hurried off to the DX. At the DX, I spotted Soda sitting alone on the sidewalk.

“Hi.”I said, shyly. He stood up and walked over to me.

“You ready?” He asks. I nod and we began walking to his house.

“So, who live with you?” I asked.

“My older brother Darry and my younger brother Ponyboy.”

“What are they like?”

“Darry is real tough. He likes to show off his muscles. He works two jobs to help take care of me and Pony.”

“How old is he?”

“He’s 20.”

“What’s Ponyboy like?”

“Pony is different from the rest of us. He digs movies, books, and watching sunsets. And he’ll listen to ya if you need to talk to someone. He’s 14. Him and Johnny are good friends.”

“Johnny? You know a lot of people.” I say, laughing.

“My friends, they’re like a big family.”

“Who all is there?”

“There’s my brothers, Steve, Dally, Johnny, and Two-bit.” He told me all about them.

Him and Steve are close, almost like brothers. He’s the other boy I saw at the DX. Dally is tough and doesn’t show much affection for anyone, except Johnny. Johnny is 16, he’s small for his age, and he’s quiet and shy around new people. Then there’s Two-bit. He’s the jokester of the game. He loves Mickey Mouse. 

“That’s a lot to remember, especially since I ain’t never seen their faces.” I smirked.

“Are you sure you’re goin to be able to remember them all?” He said, joking about my memory loss. We talked more and he told me stories about him and his friends.

“You know what Marie?” He asked smiling.

“What?” I replied, shyly smiling back.

“You’re a good listener, like Pony.” I blushed.

“Probably because I can’t remember any stories to tell you but thanks.”

“Have you ever kissed someone?”

“I can’t say that I remember.” I joked.

“That’s a shame. Ain’t it?” He said stopping. I stopped too and turned around, facing him.

“I guess.” I shrugged.

“Call me crazy but you make me crazy. After you left the DX earlier, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I think I really like you.”

I was speechless. I opened my mouth to say something, but it’s like my vocal chords were being blocked by something.

He leaned in and kissed me, gently gripping my face. His lips were soft. He pulled away and we gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment. I must’ve looked like an idiot, standing there with my mouth wide open. He held my hand and we continued walking.

“Wow.” Is all I could say.

“Yeah.” He replied. I was blushing madly and smiling like an idiot. Or that’s what it felt like. I looked over at him and he too was smiling. We were both smiling idiots. Except he wasn’t an idiot. I like him. And he likes me too.