Tangerine ((ON HOLD))

8

The days went on as they had been going until fall came and went and winter was born. Jimmy and I went out fairly regularly, as much as we could anyway, as he was on tour for a couple of months. I asked him one day how he was able to keep seeing me when he was travelling states away with the band. He told me that he'd do anything it took to keep coming back to me. I think I forgot how to breathe when he said that to me. Holly and I constantly fought, then made up within a day. She still didn't approve of mine and Jimmy's relationship. At one point she even told my mother, sort of.

I remember specifically what she said and when: "Do you know your little girl has a boyfriend, Mrs. Boyd? An older boyfriend?" It was on a day when the two of us had been fighting and she'd said something particularly nasty to me. She then followed me home, despite telling her that I did not want to walk home with her that day. 

After that things became strained between my mother and me. I was almost one hundred percent sure she'd heard me sneak out one night and just didn't say anything. She spent the days giving me indecisive glares, and asking me too many questions. "How much older is this boy?" She asked. 

"A few years" I lied.

"Is he still in school?" My mother flicked her cigarette into the ashtray in front of her. She'd resurrected an old habit. 

"Er, no."

She laughed. "What's his name?" 

I thought about what I should say. Would she recognize his name if I said it? "Jimmy...Page."

"Does he have a job, at least?" She didn't recognize his name, thank God. 

I smiled internally at her question. Yes, my boyfriend had the most wonderful job there was. He was a famous rock star in one of the most talented bands I'd ever heard, not to mention one of the most popular. "He does."

"Care to elaborate?" she said impatiently. I could tell by the tone in her voice that she had also started drinking again. 

"He's a musician, mom" I said angrily. 

Then there was a knock at the door. I looked up at my mom who silently directed me to answer it. I was shocked when I opened the door and saw Jimmy as I had been expecting it to be Holly. It was only about five o'clock in the afternoon. 

Nervously I stepped onto the porch and closed the door behind me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked breathlessly.

"I'm not allowed to visit my girl?" Jimmy said sweetly. 

"Jimmy, it's five o'clock. My mother..." I started. "You know what she'll do if she sees you..."

"Oh Lori, your mother ought to be proud of you for finding a gem like me" he joked. When I didn't respond, he said with a smile, "I am a gem, aren't I?" 

I smacked his chest playfully. "Of course you are."

The second the words left my mouth his lips were pressed to mine, and his arms were wrapped securely around me. The feeling of his lips on mine was the greatest thing I had felt in my entire life. It was something I'd grown accustomed to over the past few months. Every kiss was as magnificent as the first. If it was possible I would have liked to live all the rest of my life in his arms, right there on my porch. Roughly forty seconds into our embrace, we were torn apart by the sound of the door opening behind me. 

Jimmy and I parted instantly, and I turned around to face my mother. Somewhere in the back of my mind I was hoping that somehow my mother wouldn't notice Jimmy behind me. 

"Oh, I'm sorry" she started, smiling giddily and turning around to go back inside. But she slowly turned around and did a double take, her eyes landing behind me, on Jimmy.