hospital in Benny & Joon. The kind that made John Cusack hold up the boom box in the pouring rain so Peter Gabriel could do the talking for him. My parents had obviously failed miserably on that front, but I would never make their mistakes (whatever those were). Hester was cynical and bitter, having been sixteen when Dad left and all too aware of why our parentsâ marriage failed. She took the other extreme a child of divorce might embraceâswearing that sheâd never let a man have so much as a toehold on her heart. Sheâd roll her eyes as I wept at romantic movies and advise me to stop being such a putz, but I wouldnât stop. Didnât want to.
Okay, so back to Gwenâs basement. Her parents were upstairs watching Seinfeld, and we were playing some variation of Truth or Dare that involved a boy and a girl going into a closet and making out. Prior to the party,Annie and I had spent roughly a thousand hours discussing whom weâd most want in the closet with usâ¦her vote was the extremely cute Jack Doyle, the man sheâd end up marrying. Meâ¦I didnât really have a leading contender. Until the actual night.
Gwen lived four doors down from the Rousseaus, and sheâd worked up the nerve to ask Mark to stop by her party. For some reason, Mark agreed. It was a huge triumph for Gwenâ¦Mark was sixteen already! He had his driverâs permit! He was on varsity lacrosse and soccer! He shaved! Mark, as we all knew, was dating Julie Revere, and Julieâs little sister rode the bus with Corinne Breckâs cousin, and Corinne, who was in our class, said that her cousin said that Julieâs sister said that Julie said she might let Mark go all the way.
We were all hugely aware of himâ¦not one of the girls had touched the giant bowl of Cheeto balls for fear of getting orange gunk stuck in her braces, and most of us were sipping Diet Coke instead of the far too childish punch. I was so glad Iâd worn my denim miniskirt with the cropped pink angora sweater. And yes, Mark had checked me out ten minutes earlier when heâd come in (thank you, padded bra!), causing me to blush furiously even as I pretended not to see him.
When Markâs turn came during Truth or Dare, I didnât hear the question he was supposed to answer. A roaring sound filled my ears. My face burned. I adopted a casual pose, and when Markâs dark eyes stopped on me, I gave a little smile, even though my heart raced fast enough to make me sick. He stood up, crossed the circle and held out his hand. âOkay, kid. Time to go slumming with me,â he said with the crooked grin that would torture me for the next decade and a half.
Gwen and my friends Carla and Jenna fell silent with the wonder of it all, jealousy stamped clear on their faces, the idea of me being chosen as bitter to them as it was miraculous to me. Annie didnât look at me, for which I was gratefulâ¦wouldâve broken into squeals if she hadâbut her face glowed with excitement just the same. I stood up, brushed off my skirt and took Markâs hand. Followed him into the closet, practically floating with the surrealism of the moment. Mark Rousseau was holding my hand! Taking me into a closet! It was more than I ever dared to dream.
The closet was crowded; an air-conditioning vent ran through the space, so we had to stand close. Mark smelled wonderfulâa mix of soap and sweatâand I could hear him breathing. He took my other hand. My palms were sweaty, but his were warm and dry, and my body temperature shot up well into fever range, sweat dampening my forehead. âYouâre cute, Callie,â he whisperedâ¦the first time he said my name, and I almost threw up with the thrill of it all.
âThanks,â I whispered back, swallowing a little bile. My heart thudded so fast and hard it was a wonder he couldnât hear it.
âYou ever been kissed before?â There was a smile in his
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