“You like it?” Josh asked.
“It’s sweet,” she said, and she took another drink. He led her to the old couch in the corner, which wasn’t very clean and already had three people sitting on it. They wedged in close together and Josh didn’t mind that one bit. “I’m not squishing you, am I?” he asked, and she said no so quickly that maybe she didn’t mind it, either. He gave her a smile like the one she’d given him earlier that day when she’d spotted him leaning up against her locker. I am going to kiss her tonight, he thought.
He brought her another cup of punch, and when she finished it she asked where the bathroom was. He told her it was just inside and down the short hallway. He stretched out his leg a little so that his knee was holding her spot. He moved it when she got back and patted the tiny pocket of space and she sat down and cuddled right up next to him. He was also a couple of drinks in by then and a warmth had started to spread through him.
Then another group of kids walked into the garage and Kimmy said “Shit” under her breath. One of them, a senior named Colin that Josh had never really gotten along with, shot Josh a look. He looked at Kimmy and then back at Josh again. “So, you two are a thing?”
“What’s it to you?” Josh said.
Colin looked at Kimmy and wrinkled his nose. “I’d wish you luck for later tonight, but you won’t need it. I doubt you’ll have to try too hard,” he said, and the people he’d walked in with laughed.
Josh felt Kimmy tense up beside him and was just about to jump to her defense when she said, loud and clear, “I’m looking forward to it. I’m sure his dick will be a lot bigger than that tiny little thing you have.” Josh choked on a mouthful of beer.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Colin said. The sneer on his face and the intensity of his words propelled Josh into action. Mikey was more Josh’s friend than Colin’s, and it was time to pull rank. He stood up, and Kimmy surprised him again by getting to her feet along with him.
“Well, if we’d been together, I would know, right? I mean, it’s abnormally small. And weird-shaped. And there was that thing on the end.”
Colin’s face went nearly purple in his anger. “There’s nothing wrong with my dick. I never touched you.”
“What did you say?” Josh asked. “Because if you slept with her, she would definitely know what your dick looks like. And she said it was small and weird-shaped and had that thing—”
Colin cut Josh off before he could finish. Smart move, because Josh had raised his voice so that everyone in Mikey’s garage could hear him clearly.
“I never touched her. She wanted it, though. I’m the one who didn’t want to give it to her.” He threw his half-full beer can toward the pile of empties in the corner, and when it hit the floor some of the liquid sloshed out.
“Hey!” Mikey yelled. “Not cool.”
Colin stomped off and walked toward his car in the driveway, his buddies falling in behind him. Kimmy stood silent, motionless. Maybe she was wondering how he’d feel about the girl he’d brought with him causing so much drama, though it wasn’t like she’d done it on purpose. Maybe she was worrying that he wouldn’t believe her side of the story. That he thought she was a slut.
If she was concerned about any of those things, she didn’t need to be, because when Josh turned toward her, he was smiling. He grabbed her around the waist like something out of a movie, bent her backward a little, and kissed her right there in front of everyone. She kissed him back, and by the time they finally separated, gasping for air and smiling like fools, the others were hooting and hollering and yelling at them to get a room.
* * *
She told him about the trouble with Colin on their way home later that night when he took her to an empty parking lot, where they kissed and talked for hours. How Colin had showed interest in her at the beginning of the school year, coming on strong and showering her with attention in the math class they were both taking. Eventually, he finagled an invitation to come over to her house after school while her mother was still at work. He said they’d go to a movie when the weekend rolled around, but in the meantime, he really wanted to spend some time with her outside of school. Get to know her better. “I believed him,” Kimmy said.
Instead, he pressured her to have sex and it took every bit of strength she had to shove him off her when he didn’t heed her very loud “No.” For a minute, she told Josh she thought she’d been in real trouble, but he came to his senses in the nick of time, leaving her shaking and near tears.
The next day at school, when he was distant with her and there was no mention of weekend plans, Kimmy realized there was never going to be a movie.
Josh leaned in, kissed her again, and then pressed his lips to her ear. “In case you were wondering, I’ve never really liked that asshole. But I know I like you.”
“I like you too,” she whispered.
He liked her and then one day he loved her and after that, he couldn’t imagine them ever being apart, and for the next nineteen years, they weren’t.
chapter 13
Layla
Layla didn’t register the arrival of Josh and Norton until they were standing at the top of the stairs leading up to the deck. The weather was still holding, and Layla wanted to take advantage of every last minute she could spend outdoors, because winter could come knocking at any minute.
Layla had told Josh the gate would be unlocked and to come around to the back, but she’d lost track of time, which happened often when she was writing in her journal and strumming her guitar. The sun had already started its descent and the air had grown cooler.
“Sorry,” Josh said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” He set down a couple of dog bowls and a bag of food.
A bird landed on one of her fence posts, and Norton shot down the stairs and took off after it. Just before he reached it, it flew away and landed on another post. Norton followed and came up short again.
“Chase-the-birds is by far his favorite activity,” Josh said. “For an older dog, he’s remarkably spry.”
Layla hadn’t heard Josh pull into the driveway or the slam of a car door. “Did you walk here?”
“Yes. When you sent your address, I realized we only live about four blocks apart. I dropped Sasha off at her mom’s and then figured I’d walk him here. He moves a little slower than he probably used to, but he loves it.”
Her guitar was laid across the other chair and she picked it up and moved it out of the way. “Would you like to sit down?”
“Sure,” he said. “Were you playing?” he asked, motioning toward the guitar.
“A little.”
“I bet you can play everything. You’re the best music teacher in the world, according to Sasha.”