Girl Parts (10 page)

“OK.”

“I’m sure Clay will let us use his room.”

“Use it for what?”

“Well, I was thinking maybe Friday would be the night we’d kiss,” he said, kissing her hand. “What do you think?”

She smiled into her shoulder. “Maybe.”

“Oh, that look!” David said, clutching his chest in sweet agony. He lay back and traced her belt with his finger. “When you give me that look, I think I could wait a hundred years if it meant getting you into bed.”

“But you have me in bed right now,” she said.

David laughed. “Baby! I think that’s your first joke.”

“Was it?” Rose blinked.

She was glad he was happy, but she had no idea what he was talking about.

Clay’s place was northeast of the lake, in an old neighborhood of stone mansions. The facade was dark, but light and music poured onto a back patio.

Cars were jammed two across on the side lawn. Rose’s high heels sunk into the dirt. It was her first time wearing them, but she walked like an expert.

“You look incredible,” David said for the fourth time.

She wore her party dress, the calf-length black slip with the slit up the side and the red trim neckline. Her lips were bloodred and her hair was down, carefully styled to fall in waves along the sides of her face.

“What’s this theme called again?”

“Pinup,” Rose said.

They moved arm in arm across the drive, David in his starched yellow shirt and ripped jeans. To Rose, he looked more wonderful than usual — crisper, as if fresh from the package. She wondered if there were boy Companions, and if they looked like David.

Kids with plastic cups sprawled by the covered pool and on the concrete steps leading to the rear of the house. Rose smelled a sweet smoke, which the data banks identified as
cannabis,
without explaining further. They went inside, where it was filled to the walls with people.

Rose held tight to David’s hand as they zigzagged through the party. The air was damp with sweat and cigarette smoke. The music thudded, buffeting them like waves. Someone stumbled backward, spilling her drink inches from Rose. A thick-faced girl resembling Clay was asleep on the couch, one arm dangling over the edge, her mouth open.

“Sun!” Clay called from the kitchen. He wedged between a kissing couple and barreled toward them, pulling David into a bear hug. He wore a jersey with a tie around his flushed neck. There was lipstick on his cheek.

He put a conspiratorial hand on David’s shoulder. “Brother, we got some college bitches up in
hiz.
”

David cleared his throat. “You remember Rose, right?”

His eyes moved over her, taking a moment to register her presence. “Hell, yes, I do. Prettiest girl in Westtown. Have a beer.” He pressed a dented Solo cup into her hand.
“Now you hold on to that, and make sure nobody puts anything in it. David here is a gentleman, but I can’t speak for the rest of these deadbeats.”

Rose glanced at David.

“Don’t listen to him,” he said.

“It’s true: don’t listen to me. I am thoroughly trashed. Now, have fun, you two.”

He smacked David on the ass. He tried the same with Rose, but she ducked away.

“You’ll lose a hand that way,” David said. “Seriously.”

Clay laughed. “Classic!”

They moved into the crowd. “People are looking at you,” he said in her ear.

“Am I doing something wrong?”

“No. It’s because you’re here with me.”

He led her to the edge of the room, positioned her against the doorframe so they were visible to the rest of the party, and leaned in.

“Fun, right?”

Rose saw other couples doing the same — the girl against the wall, the boy with his arm around her. She slouched and smiled, mimicking them.

“Yes.”

A girl in a lavender sweater placed a hand on David’s midsection as she passed. “Hey, David. How you been?”

He nodded in greeting.

“Who was that?”

“I have no idea.”

“You know a lot of people.”

“A lot of people know me.” He looked her over. “You look incredibly hot.”

Something shattered in the kitchen.

“All right, who brought the cool kid?” Clay shouted, followed by a chorus of drunken laughter.

Rose examined the other girls. She noticed their imperfections, the flaws in their skin, the asymmetry of their faces. She was more beautiful, certainly. They tottered on their heels, had applied their makeup clumsily, and worst of all, were inattentive to their boys. She was a better girlfriend. She felt David’s arm tighten around her waist and leaned into its support. She brushed her hair over her shoulder and fixed him with a smoldering gaze.

“Would you rather be here with anyone else?”

“Not a chance.”

He kissed her lightly on the neck, sending a thrill down diodes on her left side. Her skin sensors came alive, activated by this new touch.
Tonight,
she thought.

“I’m going to grab a beer.”

Rose felt a rush of disappointment. “Oh. OK.”

“I’ll be right back, I promise.”

“OK.”

His gaze clung to hers as he backed away. He left her tingling in the door frame, her locks popping open, one by one, like buttons.

The keg was in the kitchen.

Three girls sat along the countertop, their legs crossed at the heels. They were tall, thin, and blond. Lacrosse players. The one nearest the keg wore pumps with leather straps winding halfway up her calf. She smiled at David. “Hey, remember me?”

He pumped the keg, the beer gushing into his cup.

“Yeah,” he said, not looking at her. “Name starts with a
V,
right? Something weird?”

“Vonis.”

“Yeah, Vonis.”

“So you
do
remember me.”

David sipped off the foam. “Yeah, I said I do.”

He started to go, but she stuck out a leg to block his way. Her calf was shiny with perspiration.

“So talk to me a little. Who’s that redhead you came in with? She’s cute.”

“My girlfriend.”

“I thought you liked blondes.”

“I try to keep an open mind.”

“Glad to hear it.” She was drinking something red in a clear plastic cup. Her breath smelled like vodka.

“Are you going to let me by?”

“Maybe.” She bit her lip. David’s eyes fell to her mouth. It sparkled with gloss. “Maybe you’ll come find me later?”

He took a long, slow swallow. “I came here with somebody, remember?”

“Since when does David Sun leave a party with the girl he came with?”

“People change.”

Vonis slid off the counter. She was almost as tall as he was. He felt her arm snake around his hips.

“Bullshit,” she whispered. Vodka and cranberry. Heat radiated from David’s collar. He thought he must be glowing. Her body felt good, slender and firm. She positioned his hand on her waist and smiled. Her look was open and promising.

“Come on, we don’t even know each other,” he said.

Her body, which was all slow movement, froze. “What did you say?”

David’s heart skipped. “Nothing.”

“Are you serious?” She withdrew her arm. “Did you just say, ‘We don’t even know each other’? What is this, the fifties?” She laughed, a cold sound. Like squealing ice.

David powered down the rest of his beer and tossed the cup. “Piss off, skank.”

“You freaking loser,” she spat. People looked up.

David pushed his way out of the kitchen, elbowing a freshman to the wall.

“Fag!” she called.

He didn’t look back.

“Where’s your beer?” Rose asked.

He grabbed her arm, pulled her in, and kissed her. She melted against him. Her mouth was on fire.

“Let’s go upstairs.”

“OK,” she breathed.

The upstairs hall was nearly empty. A girl sat on the top step, crying into her cell phone. A boy in a leather jacket ran a hand up his date’s billowing white dress. David pushed in the nearest door, pulling Rose behind him.

It was a bedroom, Clay’s sister’s, with a canopied bed and a floor littered with clothes. He locked the door. He pushed her against the wall, kissing her neck. Rose clawed him, pulling at handfuls of shirt. She smelled clean and fresh, her skin hot and dry. David felt dizzy. His face tingled.

“Oh, please,” she moaned.

She pressed against him, ran her hands up his back. Their lips touched. David’s knees dipped.

“Are you OK?”

“God, yes. Do that again.”

She did. This time, his lips parted. She opened her mouth against his, letting their tongues touch, making a blue spark. David withdrew, but not completely. It was like tonguing a Duracell — a grade-school dare. He closed his eyes and kissed her again, a proper French kiss. Her soft lips moved against his. She moaned. He opened his eyes again. Her face glowed. It was glowing in the dark. So was his. Their cheeks were translucent, like kids with flashlights in their mouths.

“Jesus.” He wiped drool from his chin. His lips were numb.

“Don’t stop.”

“I can’t.”

“No,” she moaned into his shirt.

“You’re not ready yet. You’re shocking me.”

“But I
feel
ready.”

His crotch ached. He adjusted himself.

“It hurts down
there
?”

He clenched his jaw. “Yeah, it does. It hurts bad, baby.”

Rose cooed. “Oh,
baby.
I’m so sorry.”

“It’s like a vise, you know?”

“What can we
do
?”

David thought. “How about a strip show?”

“A what?”

He lay back on the bed. “No touching. Just . . . you. Getting naked. Remember in that old movie we watched,
True Lies
? That one scene?”

Rose tugged at her shoulder strap. “Um, OK. I think I can do that. There’s no music, though.”

David turned on the clock radio. He scrambled the dial until he found a jazz station. “This is fine.”

A low, mournful saxophone dripped from the speakers. Rose turned out her heel and began to move to the melody.

“Is this good?”

“That’s perfect.”

She leaned against the bedpost, sliding down slowly like Jamie Lee Curtis. “Like this?”

David was going out of his head. His swallowed away the dryness in his throat. “Uh-huh.”

She moved close to him, daring their bodies to touch, leaving a whisper of breath between them. The silk of her dress rustled and fell like a black curtain.

“You’re perfect.”

“
You
are.”

She smiled, loving the effect she was having on him. She unclasped her bra and tossed it onto the bed. David looked ready to explode.

“Why didn’t you think of this sooner?” She giggled.

“Don’t stop there!”

She laughed again. “OK, OK.”

She wriggled out of her thong. She felt fragile, feeling the cool air all over.
Shameful,
her brain told her, but she ignored it. Naked in front of anyone else was shameful. But not him.

“What do you think?”

David stared, slack-jawed. He squinted, then shook his head.

Rose blinked. “What is it?”

He leaned over and turned on the bed lamp. Rose covered herself in the sudden light.

“Let me see,” he said, his voice urgent.

She moved her hands. David stared, clouds gathering in his eyes.

“Are you
serious
?”

“W-what?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He stood and paced across the room. “All this time!” He was furious, his eyes wild. “I mean,
damn it,
Rose!”

She slunk back onto the bed. “I don’t understand.”

“What was all this for? All this cutesy stuff! All this you and me stuff! Is this some kind of crazy joke?”

“I really don’t understand.” She was close to tears. “Please just tell me.”

“Talk about not getting what you want.” He stormed to the door.

Rose snatched her dress and held it across her front.

“What’s wrong with me?”

He whirled on her. “Like you don’t know.”

She shook her head.

“You’re incomplete, Rose. You’re a Barbie doll.”

“I . . .”

He wrenched open the door and tossed one last furious look over his shoulder.

“What a waste of time,” he said, and left.

The next few days were a blur.