Don't You Remember (8 page)

One evening I entered his front door and went straight to his room. Johnny was sitting on his bed with his guitar in his arms and music in front of him. I stood at the door watching him, admiring him. He looked up at me standing there. “What are you doing all the way over there? Come over here,” he said, summoning me over with his index finger. I stood at the side of the bed while he put one hand up my short and rested it on my butt cheek.

“What are you working on?”

“This new song,” he said, moving his hand to his music sheet.

“Play it.”

He started to play and, as always, managed to blow me away. His voice was distinctive, masculine and always in tune. Johnny had every reason to feel confident about making something out of himself through his music – he was a truly gifted musician. I knew it was going to be hard for him to become a professional musician but he owed it to himself to try. He planned to head east, stopping off in various towns to perform until he reached New York. Then he would work the pub circuit and hope for the best. He said life had been hard in many ways and that maybe it was his turn for good things to happen. Johnny was a fighter and would fight for whatever he wanted.

“That was so good, Johnny. Play something else.”

“Any requests?” he asked, lifting up his file of songs.

“No. I don’t mind,” I said, lifting up the pile of paper and flicking through it.

That night I listened to Johnny play and sang along to all the songs I already knew. This was us in our secret world, a world where we could hang out and play music, discussing the tunes, the lyrics and working out if changes were needed or not. I was very much a part of that process. My opinion counted.

As it approached midnight, Johnny collected his music papers, piled them onto his desk and leaned his guitar up against the corner of the wall.

I took my shorts off and curled up next to him, my smooth shaved leg folded up against his waist, my hand resting on his chest playing with the curved shape of his pecs.

“What are you thinking?” he asked me.

“I’m thinking about your chest and how perfect it is. Why? What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking I want you to get these off,” he said, flicking the elastic in my pants and then doing the same to my bra.

I looked up at him, his blue eyes reading mine. I said nothing but removed my panties while he undid the back of my bra with one hand, like an expert. I pulled his boxers down noticing he was hard, then came up to meet his gaze. He placed me on my side in spooning position and held me at my waist. I lifted my arm and placed it behind his neck, turning my head to kiss him. He kissed me and placed himself inside me. We moved in unison softly moaning with pleasure. He knew exactly where to touch me, feeling my body all over, kissing my neck and shoulders gently, and then effortlessly finding my clitoris with his finger and adding just the right pressure. We finished, both satisfied and holding on tight to each other, feeling as if we were each other’s security blanket.

CHAPTER TEN

The countdown to graduation had begun – two weeks and two days. My final exams finished today and now I can relax and enjoy the end of year celebrations. As promised, Johnny bought me a beautiful dress. I went over to his house late one Sunday evening, after Johnny had gone out for the day. I thought he had gone to work, but he had travelled over an hour and a half just to find a mall in the town of Westville. He spent a few hours there, looking for the perfect dress for me. He returned home and placed it on his bed inside a medium box with a big bow tied around it.

I opened his bedroom door and saw Johnny sitting casually in his boxers with no top on, studying at his desk. He looked up. “Hello, gorgeous, come in,” he said. His desk was positioned next to the door, so he reached out for my hand and pulled me toward him and sat me down on his knee. He swivelled around in his chair so that we were facing his bed. “I’ve got something for you,” he smiled, looking over in the direction of his bed.

“What could it be?” I teased. “Could this be the dress?”

“It just might be. Do you want to open the box up and see what’s inside?”

Excited, I got up and walked over to his bed, perching on the side and moving the box over to sit on top of my knees. I opened it slowly, looking up at Johnny, smiling. He was eager to see what I thought of the dress. I threw off the lid, removed the tissue paper and let the black fitted dress fall to the ground. I held it up by the spaghetti straps.

“Oh, Johnny. It’s beautiful, so grown up. It’s completely ‘wow’. I don’t know if I can carry this off.”

“Of course you can. Try it on.”

I pulled my tank off and removed my shorts, revealing my underwear. I placed the black dress over my head and pulled the bottom down over my small curves, then fiddled with my hips to get the dress to fall right. I felt my bottom, around my hips and then down my thighs, looking down at my lower half.

“It’s exquisite, absolutely stunning, Johnny,” I said, standing on my tiptoes and walking over to him. I brought my hands to his face and pulled him forward slightly to give him a thank you kiss.

“Nothing but the best for my girl.” Johnny put his hands on the side of my hips and pulled me forward and kissed me again. “Now let’s take this off,” he said, bending down to my feet and pulling the dress up and over my head. I was left standing in my knickers and bra. “Now, let’s see,” he said moving away from me for a moment, to see my silhouette.

“I’m cold now,” I announced, biting down on my bottom lip, even though I wasn’t. I said those words so he would wrap his arms around me. He understood my thinking and hungrily looked into my eyes, then placed his perfectly shaped arms around my body. “Now, that’s better.” I said nuzzling into his chest.

Johnny turned off the light, undid my bra and walked me slowly backwards to the bed. I jumped under the covers and patted the sheets inviting him to join me. He slid in next to me under the covers, took off his boxers and tossed them onto the carpet. We began to kiss intimately. I liked the taste of his mouth, I loved the feel of his body up close and I could tell he felt the same too. We both panted, waiting to see who would be the first to take things further. I could hardly contain myself as I bent my leg and brought my knee up to his waist, my breathing becoming heavier from excitement. Johnny felt the rim of my knickers and flicked it.

“Take these off,” he mumbled, still kissing me. Eventually I pulled one leg free and then used my foot to push the other side free, brushing the knickers over the side of the bed and onto the floor. I held his lip gently with my teeth as I straddled myself on top and pulled the covers over my back. My hands rested on his chest as I began to move up and down and then in a slow rotation. Johnny touched my body working his way up from my hips to my breasts, taking all of me in with his eyes as he felt his way around. I slid off him and worked my way down his body kissing him softly as I moved southwards, stopping when I reached his groin.

“You’re so good, so filthy good,” he said, moving his hands through my hair, enjoying the sensation.

In full pleasure he sat up to watch me work my magic. He took my face in his hands and brought me up to meet him, quickly flipping me over onto my back, completely taking charge. He thrust inside me, moving his body up and down, keeping the pressure and timing exactly the same. “Don’t stop,” I moaned, ready to explode. “I’m almost ready,” I cried out, “Almost, almost… now,” I said releasing myself at the same time as Johnny. If sex was this good, I wondered, why I had waited so long? Although I knew the answer – I simply hadn’t been ready.

*****

Graduation day arrived and tonight Johnny and I were going to the Prom together. At home I left myself lots of time to get ready, face mask, pluck, shave, shower, wash my hair, wash my body, moisturize, deodorant, perfume. While I waited for my facemask to dry, I read my Teen Queen magazine which had a make-up application special inside. I proceeded to get ready adding some mousse to my hair wishing it more volume. I put my dress on and admired the snug fit that made me look so womanly. Next, I applied concealer, foundation and some powder then brushed a little blush onto the apples of my cheeks. I wasn’t very confident applying eye shadow so I decided to omit it and used only mascara on my eyes. I added some lip-gloss and decided that would do. I tip toed back to my room and collected my black heels and looked at myself wearing the dress in the mirror, pleased to see my cleavage showing just the right amount.

I walked out of my bedroom and tied my strappy sandals to my feet quickly in the hallway, holding onto the wall as I did so. My father stood at the other end of the corridor with his jaw wide open.

“What?” I asked, placing my feet back on the floor and fiddling with my dress again.

“You look stunning,” my father declared. “You are absolutely beautiful, Jennifer.”

“Yes, well, I’m off to the Prom with Johnny.”

“He’s very lucky to have a date like you.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“It’s true,” he said, opening a can of lager.

“Have a good night,” I said, as I dashed out the front door. The moment I stepped outside and onto the porch, Johnny was there. He looked so smart, so handsome wearing his black tuxedo. We stopped and looked at each other for a moment, before continuing down the porch stairs and meeting up exactly half way.

“I didn’t get you a traditional gift, like a corsage. I didn’t think it was quite you.”

“That’s OK. You’re right, it’s not me.”

“But I did get you something.” He handed me a small box.

“Oh, Johnny, you shouldn’t have spent your money on me. Really you shouldn’t have,” I said, holding the small black box in my hand and looking up at him.

“Open it.”

I opened it and inside was an elegant diamond pendant necklace. “It’s beautiful,” I gasped.

“You’re beautiful,” Johnny said, taking the necklace from the box and putting it around my neck. He stepped back and nodded in approval. “Jen Redman, you’re the one and you always will be.”

I smiled, holding the pendant with one hand stroking it with the tips of my fingers and thoughtfully touching his cheek with my other hand.

There was something in the air that night; a feeling of the end and, also, of the beginning.

The Prom party was held in the school hall, a large room decorated with streamers and a huge banner flashing the words ‘Class of 85.’  Johnny wasn’t overly concerned about hanging around at the prom, preferring to spend his last three nights in Rushton with me. We made our entrance, got our photo taken and socialized a while. A slow song played on the stereo, and Johnny wasted no time taking me to the dance floor and holding me tight around the waist. We danced slowly, gazing into each other’s eyes, our bodies moving slowly to the music. Johnny moved my head slightly over to the side and kissed my ear lobe. With both my hands placed on his cheeks I slowly kissed his mouth while he rested his hands on the top of my buttock. We were so into each other we didn’t notice there were other people around us – we only saw each other; we only wanted each other. The song ended and Johnny took my hand and led me outside, where he placed one strong arm around my waist and pulled me close, then using his other hand, he brushed my cheek and kissed me long and slow, tasting my mouth, enjoying my lips.

“Let’s get out of here,” he suggested.

“Let’s,” I agreed.

Johnny drove the car to the paddocks behind Raven Lake finding a dirt track which led to a secluded area behind the lake. The heat of the night made Johnny take off his tuxedo jacket and bow tie. He undid the first few buttons of his shirt at the neck to allow freedom. We parked, opened the car doors and walked to the bonnet, jumping onto the hood to enjoy the night-time stars and the heat of the night. Johnny remembered he had a blanket in the boot and collected it to lay over the warm bonnet. We lay back watching the stars and dreaming about the future. Johnny was due to leave in exactly three days’ time and the next few days would be spent helping him pack for the future. He had managed to get a bar gig in Westville, in a little bar in the centre of town. It was only for one night and then he would be off again to find something else. Johnny didn’t feel any pressure about the future, but was instead excited about what might happen, believing if you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.