Wilson's Hard Lesson (25 page)

“It’s going to be a perfect night for fireworks,” Shannon
announced. “There’s not a cloud in the sky.”  She handed Brendan the picnic
basket she’d filled with sandwiches and sodas.  He took it and carefully stowed
in in the boat before reaching out for her hand to help her in.

Over the years, Shannon and Brendan had touched each other a
million times. Casual stuff, goofing around and working together on projects,
had brought them into contact frequently. None of those touches had felt like
it did when their palms met now: electric anticipation sparked between them,
almost audible in the hot summer night.

Their eyes met briefly, but neither of them said anything.
Shannon could feel her face getting red; what if she was alone in what she
felt? Her desire was startling to her. Brendan had been her friend forever, but
now he was tall and muscular and confident. He smelled good, and there was a
strength about him that she found strangely compelling.

“I hope so,” Brendan said, puzzling her. He nodded toward
the horizon, where a few small black clouds were gathered just above the tree
line. “Dad said it’s supposed to be clear, but those look like rain.”

“Well, I can’t get wet,” Shannon said. “I’ll melt!”

Brendan laughed. “What?”

“I’m made of sugar, haven’t you heard?”  She gestured toward
the sky. “One raindrop, and poof! I’ll be gone.”

She’d been joking, but Brendan took the conversation in a
different way. Suddenly, he was standing very close to Shannon, an intense look
on his face. “I’ll take some of that sugar.” His fingers traced the side of her
face, brown eyes searching hers intensely. “Yes?”

“Yes,” Shannon whispered, in the half second before Brendan
kissed her.

His lips were softer than she’d ever imagined possible,
parting at a touch. Shannon breathed in the taste of fresh mint and eager want;
when their tongues met she felt her heart leap inside her chest. She was
kissing her best friend in all the world, and it felt so right.

“I have wanted to do that forever,” Brendan said, as their
heads parted. “You don’t even know.”

“I want to do it again,” Shannon replied, pulling Brendan
toward her for another kiss. “You don’t even know.”

“Then show me,” he replied.

This kiss began slowly, a tender embrace that grew more
passionate with every passing second. Shannon let her arms snake up around
Brendan’s neck and she sank down onto one of the orange padded boat seats,
bringing him along with her.

“Geez, kids, get a room!” A familiar voice called from the
next boat over. “We’ve got our kids here.”

Shannon looked up, mortified, to see Mr. and Mrs. Wilson.
They owned the local hardware store; Mrs. Wilson was a regular customer who
liked books on angels and miracles. They had three blond little ones with them,
each one securely belted into a life jacket.

“Sorry,” she muttered, red faced, while Brendan leapt to
free the boat from the dock. “We were just…leaving.”

Brendan laughed as they got out in the open water. “Don’t
apologize!” he told Shannon. “They’d be doing the same thing if they could.”

Shannon felt some of her discomfort melt away. “You really
think so?”

“Sure,” Brendan said. “Where do you think those kids came
from?”

“Oh, God…” Shannon replied. “I don’t want to think about the
Wilsons getting it on.” Mrs. Wilson was nice enough, but Mr. Wilson was an oily
chunk of a man with small eyes, chubby hands, and tendency to snort instead of
laugh. “That’s horrible!”

Brendan reached over and rummaged in a cooler. He brought
out a brown long-necked bottle. “Here, this will take your mind off of it.”

Shannon took it cautiously. “What is it?”

“Hard cider,” Brendan replied. “I figured you weren’t much
of a beer drinker, so I picked up a few. It tastes like apples.”

“Is it strong?” she asked.

“Just strong enough to take the image of a naked Mr. Wilson
right out of your mind.” Brendan laughed.

Shannon took a taste. The cider was sweet and cold; better
than she’d expected. “This is good.”

Brendan smiled. His smile lit up his entire face. Shannon
could see his joy in his eyes as well as in the curve of his grin; it was clear
he was happy he’d pleased her. “I’m glad you like it.”

“I do.” She maneuvered herself into the seat beside where he
was driving the boat. “You have good taste.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” he laughed.  “I think it’s
more a matter of being willing to try anything once. Some things work out, some
don’t.”

“What hasn’t worked out?” Shannon asked.

“Hmmm. Let’s see.  Last semester, I shared a suite with
three other guys. There was me, this guy Chad – you’d like him, he’s an English
major, Phillips, and Nam-gi. He’s Korean – I mean, he was born here and
everything, but his family is Korean.”

Shannon nodded. “Okay.”

“And Nam-gi is a great guy. He’s smart as hell, and really
hard working, and he flat out saved my ass when I was having a hard time in
calculus.” Brendan paused. “I know that all sounds like a stereotype. But he’s
also a lot of fun. He’s got a sick sense of humor. And he loves music.”

“He sounds cool,” Shannon replied. “And there’s nothing
wrong with being smart and hard working.”

“I like smart and hard working,” Brendan said. He looked at
Shannon out of the corner of his eye, letting his gaze travel up and down the
length of her body. The amount of time he spent checking out her legs made
Shannon glad she’d worn her cut-off shorts. “I like it a lot.”

Shannon blushed. “So where did things go wrong?”

“I don’t know that they went wrong, exactly. But his Mom
came into town and she brought all this food. Like a gigantic basket full of
all of Nam-gi’s favorite stuff. And she’s telling us, “Eat, eat!”  Brendan
laughed. “Nam-gi’s like “I don’t know guys, this is pretty traditional Korean
food.” But I thought, “How bad could it be?”

“How bad was it?”

“Some of it wasn’t bad at all. She makes this stuff called
Eomuk that’s awesome – it’s like a fish patty, but one hundred times better.
But then…” Brendan paused dramatically, and rolled his eyes. “I couldn’t stop
while I was ahead. I had to try the kimchi.”

Shannon had heard of kimchi before. “Isn’t that pickled
cabbage?”

“That’s what I thought,” Brendan said. “I figured it would
be kind of like sauerkraut. No big deal, right?”

Shannon nodded. “Right.” She’d seen Brendan pack away a good
amount of sauerkraut over the years; it was a staple menu item in the Claremont
High cafeteria.

“Wrong!” Brendan announced. “Imagine biting into a red-hot
coal while it was still on fire.” He waved his hand in front of his face. “I
thought my tongue was going to spontaneously combust.”

“So that’s a no on the kimchi then.” Shannon glanced toward
the picnic basket she’d brought. “I hope you don’t wind up getting too hungry.”

Brendan’s face froze momentarily, his expression caught
somewhere between shock and horror. “I’m sure if you made it, I would like it,”
he said, eventually. “I mean, I’ll give it a try…”

Shannon laughed. “No worries. I was just busting you. Our
snacks are 100% kimchi free.”

“Oh, thank God,” he replied. He opened a beer for himself.
“Because that stuff is definitely not for me!”

“There’s nothing from the Cthullu cookbook either,” Shannon
said. “So you don’t have to worry about any octopus tentacles.”

“I’ve actually tried those,” Brendan said. “At a sushi
restaurant. I know what you’re thinking, but actually, they were pretty good.”

Shannon sighed. “I wish I tried half the stuff you’ve tried.”

“About half of it was good,” Brendan said. “So as long as
you picked the right half, you’d be in good shape.”

“I’m not going to be able to do that in Claremont though.”
Shannon raised her bottle in a salute to the buildings silhouetted on the
river’s shore. “We have what we have and that’s it. No sushi restaurants.”

“You don’t have to stay in Claremont forever.”

“That’s what Erica said.”

Brendan tensed up. “You talked to Erica?”

Shannon laughed. “Yes. She said you were a cheapskate.” She
reached over and smacked Brendan’s arm. “When a woman is nice enough to shake
her ass in your face, you put your money down.”

“Oh, my God.” Brendan blushed scarlet. “I can’t believe she
recognized me.”

“Well, she’s only known you like your whole life,” Shannon
replied. “More or less.” She took another sip of the cider, appreciating the
way it warmed her with every swallow. “She wants me to move to Albany with her,
split the rent on her place.”

Brendan looked straight ahead, carefully not meeting
Shannon’s gaze. “Are you thinking about it?”

“I don’t know.” Shannon shook her head. “I know I’ve got to
move out on my own eventually. But right now, Mom really needs the help with
the bookstore. She can’t work all day, every day, and the sales aren’t enough
to cover paying someone.”

“That’s not really fair to you though,” Brendan said.
“You’re never going to be able to get ahead that way.”

Shannon thought about how she’d hesitated before giving
Erica her twenty-dollar bill. “But what am I supposed to do? Mom gave up her
entire life for me when I was little. I remember her going without stuff just
so I could have it.”

“That’s what Moms do,” Brendan replied. “It’s part of the
deal.”

“Still. I feel like I should do something for her.”

“Something isn’t putting your entire life on hold.”

“So you think I should move in with Erica?”

Brendan shook his head. “I didn’t say that. I mean, it’s
Erica. Deep down, she’s still the same girl we grew up with. But she’s making a
lot of choices that will…” His voice drifted off.

“That will what?” Shannon prompted.

“I think they’re going to make her life harder for her in
the long run.   It’s not even about the dancing,” he continued. “Not really.
But dropping out of school…”

“She told me she wasn’t nearly as good as everyone else.”
Shannon shook her head. “And she couldn’t see herself doing anything else.”

“That’s bullshit. You can change your major. People do it
all the time. Look at me. I started out in game design, thinking that’s what I
wanted to do with my life.”

Shannon nodded, remembering Brendan’s determination that he
was going to create the next World of Warcraft. “So what happened?”

“Two weeks in, they do this presentation, talking about the
career realities in the field and how few game designers actually make it to
the point where they can support themselves,” Brendan said. “It was something
like 3 percent. Maybe five. Not more than that.”

“Ouch,” Shannon said. “Those are some pretty harsh odds.”

“One professor said if you were determined to make it as a
game designer, the first thing you have to do is marry a woman with money.”

Shannon laughed. “Well, don’t waste your time proposing to
me then,” she scoffed. “I’m as broke as a joke.”

“I know you are,” Brendan said. “And I could never make a
decision like who I wanted to marry based on whether or not she could support
me. That shit’s not right. I’ve got to be able to provide for myself and when
it gets to it, my family.” He took a deep breath. “After that presentation, I
went down to see my advisor. And I said basically everything I just said to
you, and asked her what major I should switch into.”

“And now you’re in…” Shannon searched her brain, remembering
what Brendan had said about an internship. “Some kind of insurance degree?”

“Finance,” Brendan said. “Eventually I’ll be able to get my
licenses and either work as a broker or an investment banker.”

Shannon blinked. “Really?” It was the last thing she
expected to hear from Brendan. “Is that what you want to do with your life?”

Brendan leaned back in the seat, carefully steering the boat
toward a secluded woody section of the riverbank. “Everybody’s got to do
something.”  He killed the motor. “I think we’ll be able to see the fireworks
pretty good from here.”

Shannon looked around. “This is nice. And private.”  She
followed Brendan to the front of the boat, joining him on the blanket he
carefully spread on the deck. “But you didn’t answer my question.”

Brendan turned to Shannon. Their faces were inches apart.
Shannon was once again suddenly reminded of what an attractive man her best
friend had turned out to be; desire washed through her body and she bit her
bottom lip. “What’s that?” he asked.

“What do you want to do with your life?” Shannon asked.

“I’d love to spend it making love to you,” Brendan replied.
Then he kissed her.

Somewhere in the distance, Shannon could hear a first lonely
firework whooshing up into the sky as Brendan kissed her. It arced through the
twilight unseen, announcing the end of its journey with a loud sparkling snap.

“How is this even happening?” she whispered against
Brendan’s lips. “All these years, I never knew you felt anything for me.” His
eyes were shining. “Not like this.”

Brendan ran his fingertips over the side of Shannon’s face,
starting at her temple and slowly tracing his way down to her jawline. “I think
I’ve always loved you,” he said. “Do you remember when you told PJ you’d beat
him up if he didn’t give me back my Gameboy?”

Shannon laughed, softly. “We were like in second grade
then.” PJ had been the playground bully everyone was afraid of. He was a tall,
big kid who’d towered over the rest of his classmates, but that didn’t stop
Shannon from going after him with her tiny fists flying. “I was so mad that
he’d do that to you.”

“I think that’s when it started,” Brendan said. He kissed
Shannon again, first on the lips and then on her cheek. From there he worked
his way, kiss by kiss, to the curving arch of Shannon’s neck. “I knew you were
the girl for me.”

Shannon moaned. She’d never suspected that simple kisses
could feel so good. Every touch of Brendan’s lips awakened new feelings in her.
She could feel herself trembling against her best friend. “Why didn’t you say
something?”

Brendan laughed softly. “I was just a kid.” He gently tugged
at the hem of Shannon’s shirt. She moved, letting the striped garment slip over
her head.  Underneath, she was wearing her favorite bikini top, bright red with
tiny daisies and hearts printed on it.

“We got older,” Shannon said. Brendan went back to kissing
her, beginning again at her neck and then moving over her newly exposed flesh.
“You could have said something.”

“You wouldn’t have been interested in me then.” His kisses
had reached the very edge of Shannon’s bikini top, soft lips pressing against
the gentle swell of her bosom. Shannon slid her fingers into his hair, feeling
the silk of his chestnut curls embracing each digit.

“Well, I definitely am now,” she murmured. “Very, very
interested.”

Brendan smiled a smile Shannon had never seen before, sly
and sexy and wanting all at once. It was the most erotic thing she’d ever seen,
this new, unknown expression on the man she’d known her whole life.

He brought his hand up to the red fabric that covered her
breast and squeezed, gently. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured. “I can’t
believe this is actually happening.”

Shannon arched her back, bringing her chest up into
Brendan’s grip. She’d never gone so far with anyone before, but this first
taste of intimacy awakened a hunger for more. “Me, either,” she whispered. It
was almost a moan, but not quite. “Brendan…”

He froze for a moment as the sound of an approaching boat
motor filled the night.  They could hear people whooping and laughing.

“They’re just on their way down to watch the fireworks,”
Shannon said softly.

“I don’t want them to notice us,” Brendan said. He squeezed
Shannon’s breast again, letting his thumb brush over the area where her nipple
tented the fabric outward. “We don’t need any company.”

Shannon nodded, staying silent as the boat passed by.  She
let her hands do the talking for her, feeling the muscled ridges of Brendan’s
back and shoulders. His body was so hard, compared to her own; she reveled in
his solidity and strength.

“I love it when you touch me,” Brendan whispered against her
lips. “It feels so good to have your hands on me.”

“I want to touch you everywhere,” Shannon said. The party
boat was moving down the river; she felt safe that they were on their way to
get a better view of the fireworks show. On the wind, she could hear occasional
bits of music coming from the fairgrounds, a signal that the festivities were
getting started for real.

Brendan took her hand and guided it to the front of his swim
trunks. His eyes closed as her grip embraced his need. “Oh, my god,” he
whispered.

Shannon echoed the sentiment. The swell in Brendan’s shorts
was huge; it felt as thick as her wrist. She wasn’t entirely sure what to do,
so she moved slowly, exploring the length of the bulge. The thin fabric of his
swim trunks concealed nothing; she could feel Brendan’s cock growing harder and
harder as she slid her hand downward.

“Yeah,” Brendan groaned. He slid his hand downward from
Shannon’s chest to her crotch, tentatively pressing against her fabric-covered
mound.

Her hips raised upward in response, meeting his touch.  “I
can’t believe this is happening,” she said.

The sound of another boat motor filled the night, joined by
the high whine of an approaching jet ski. “You’ve got to be kidding me,”
Brendan said. He shifted awkwardly off of Shannon into a more socially
acceptable pose. “I thought everyone would have gone down there by now.”

“There’s always the last minute people,” Shannon said. She
leaned over and gave Brendan a kiss. “Anyway, who cares?”

He kissed her back, pulling her into his arms once again.
Shannon smiled, loving the feel of their bodies pressed up against each other.

Then someone called out from a passing boat. “Billy Benson,
is that you?”

“God damn it,” Brendan muttered, before calling back, “No,
it’s Brendan. Dad let me borrow the boat for the fireworks.”

“It looks like you’ve got some fireworks of your own fixing
to go off over there,” the voice called. Laughter filled the night, fading away
only as the more and more boats crowded into the area. Someone had a radio on
their boat, playing loud country music. “Let’s get this party started!” they
whooped.

“Can we go somewhere a little more private?” Shannon asked.

Brendan sat up and looked around. “I don’t think so,” he
said. “Half the town is here.”

Shannon sat up. Brendan was right. The river was suddenly
full of boats, some pulled up along the bank the way they were, while others
were cruising up and down the central channel. Everyone was jostling around
looking for a good place to watch the fireworks show.

“Yeah,” she said. “We don’t need to get in an accident.” She
took Brendan’s hand and squeezed it tight. “I guess we’ll just have to sit here
and enjoy each other’s company.” She laughed a little bit. “With our clothes
on.”

A throbbing sensation in her tender parts prompted her to
add, “Although I really don’t want to keep my clothes on.”

“You don’t have to,” Brendan said with a grin. He went to
the cooler and retrieved a drink for each of them. “I promise you I don’t mind
a bit.”

“I’m sure you don’t,” Shannon laughed. “But I have to be
able to live in this town.” Further down the river, not too distant at all, she
was pretty sure she saw the Wilson’s boat. The kids were on deck, waving golden
sparklers around. “And I don’t want all these people seeing me naked.”

Brendan cracked his beer open. “Yeah, me either. I don’t
think I have that exhibitionist gene.”

“Erica’s got enough of it for both of us,” Shannon said. She
took a long drink of cider, enjoying the sweet fruitiness of the drink. “And
even she doesn’t want people from here seeing her.”

“I feel bad about that,” Brendan said. “If I had known she
was going to be there, I never would have gone with the guys that night.”

“How were you supposed to know?” Shannon shrugged. “It’s not
like those places advertise.”

“Well, they do, actually,” Brendan said. “They have flyers
all over the place. But the pictures on them are just these black and white
drawings – they don’t actually look like anyone.” He shook his head. “I haven’t
gone back. I’m not going to.”

That news made Shannon smile, but she didn’t say anything. 
In the distance, another firework shot up into the sky, exploding in a shower
of white sparkles. “I think the show’s about to start,” she said.

“They said dusk,” Brendan replied. It was pretty dark around
them, and getting darker by the minute. He took Shannon’s hand. “I’m glad I’m
watching them with you.” Shannon leaned toward Brendan, and they kissed again
as another firework went up. “Me too,” she murmured. “Me too.”

The fireworks went on and on, a pyrotechnic show that lasted
almost fifteen minutes. Shannon and Brendan spent nearly the entirely of those
fifteen minutes kissing, breaking off from their affections only when the
crowds’ collective “Ooh!” was loud enough to warrant looking up.

“I can’t wait until everyone goes home,” Brendan murmured.
His hands were moving pretty freely over Shannon’s body, stroking and teasing
her to ever-greater levels of excitement. “We’ll get out of these clothes and
make love right here on the boat.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Shannon moaned. “I can’t wait.”

The fireworks finale started slowly, with three projectiles
fired off in rapid succession. Then the show picked up the pace, with dozens of
explosions going off in the sky simultaneously. The display was so intense that
for a moment, it was as bright as day; Shannon could see Brendan in amazing
detail.  The noise was deafening, loud booms like thunder that echoed over the
river. The boat rocked, just a little, and people on every craft started
shouting “Woo! Woo hoo!”

“Yes!” Brendan said. “It’s over!” He bent over to kiss
Shannon, a deep, intense kiss at first, followed by a flurry of shallow, quick
pecks. “And then we’ll be alone.”

They waited patiently, watching boat after boat sail back up
the river. The boats that had docked alongside them took their time departing.
They left one at a time, meandering into the black night.

“It won’t be long now,” Shannon said. She was surprised at
how much she wanted Brendan. The idea of being with him now, on the boat, under
the summer sky, was the most romantic thing she’d ever heard.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Brendan sounded disgusted. “I
can’t believe this.”

“What’s that?” Shannon asked, surprised at the change in his
tone.

He sat up and pointed straight down the river. “Look what’s
coming.”

Flashing red and blue lights revealed the approach of a
Coast Guard patrol.

“They shouldn’t bother us,” Shannon said. “We haven’t done
anything wrong.”

“Wait,” Brendan said. He stood up and moved toward the
driver’s seat. “These guys can be dicks. I don’t want to have to deal with
them.”

“All right,” Shannon replied.

The Coast Guard patrol was stopping near each boat still out
on the river. They didn’t stay any length of time beside any one boat, just
long enough to exchange a few words with the people on board. After they moved
on, the boaters started their motors, turned on their lights, and slowly
maneuvered their crafts away from the river bank into open water.

“See?” Brendan said. “They’re making people go home.”

“I thought we could stay out here all night,” Shannon said.

“Yesterday we could have,” Brendan said. “Same thing
tomorrow. But tonight they’re going to clear the river.”

Sure enough, when the cruiser pulled alongside the boat, the
first thing the Coast Guard sailor asked was, “You folks know this river’s only
legally navigable until midnight, right?”

“Yes sir,” Brendan replied. “We’re just heading home.”

“All right then,” the Coast Guard sailor replied. “We let
people tie off during the fireworks, but this channel’s got to stay clear.”

“All right,” Brendan said, adding “Thank you.”

“They were great fireworks,” Shannon added.

The Coast Guard sailor smiled. “That they were, ma’am. You
folks have a good evening.”

“We were going to,” Brendan said, as they drove off. “But
you guys wrecked that.”

“Don’t be like that,” Shannon said. “They’re just doing
their jobs.” She strolled over to Brendan, wrapped her arms around him, and
kissed him deeply. “The bookstore’s closed tomorrow. Come on over. We’ll finish
what we started…and there, nobody’s going to interrupt us.”