Read Online Don't Look Back by Nicola Graham - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Nicola Graham
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tremendously.
At the next Friday night disco, Sully is a no-show again, and Terry doesn’t seem to know where he is, nor does he offer any explanation or excuse for Sully’s behavior. The night drags on, and I don’t enjoy myself at all. I decide that I won’t be coming to the disco the following week, and I probably won’t be hanging out with Di much, either.
At the end of the night, the lights fade, and the final song starts: Foreigner’s “Waiting For a Girl Like You.” Out of nowhere, Sully appears and asks me to dance, but this time there is something different about him. We find ourselves back on the dance floor, a little less awkward. His hands are much more relaxed this time, resting on the curve of my back. His body is less stiff, moving more fluidly to the rhythm of the music. He actually is good at dancing, and I feel my hands relaxing on his shoulders, our young bodies drawing closer together. I can feel his breath against my temple, and I can smell some sort of aftershave on him that I have never noticed before. I decide I like the aftershave, and I also like being this close to Sully. It feels … nice. At the end of the song, he doesn’t run off; instead, we wait for Diana and Terry and we all walk home together. Diana and Terry are in front, and Sully and I walk behind them in silence.
“Where were you this week, Sully?” I finally find the courage to ask him.
“My mum needed me to help her this week, so I wasn’t allowed out after school,” he replies, never taking his eyes off the ground.
“I thought maybe you were in trouble or something. Will you be around next week?” I ask, hoping that he will say yes.
“Yeah, I might be around next week, if you want me to.” Sully looks at me briefly, a bit embarrassed, but smiles his quirky smile that makes my tummy do somersaults. He quickly returns his eyes to the road.
“Of course I want you to, I missed you this week. It’s been awful hanging out with Romeo and Juliet all by myself.” We both giggle at our pet name for Terry and Diana, then we are silent again and only our footsteps can be heard down Collgate Avenue.
We get to the top of my street—the point at which I usually run off to my house—when Sully announces to Terry that he’s going to walk me home. Both Terry and Di stop, stunned by his announcement. I shrug at them in response; I don’t know why Sully is walking me to my door.
We call out our goodbyes and separate, going in opposite directions. Sully and I saunter slowly toward my house, which is only about five houses down from where we split from our friends. I have to go down the side alley to the back gate to get in, as my mum left the back door open for me. Sully follows me down the narrow alleyway between our house and the neighbors. It is dark and quiet; the only light is the faint orange glow from the street lights on the main road.
“Did you really miss me this week?” Sully whispers as we near the end of the alley,approaching my gate.
“Yes, I was bored stiff!” I whisper back. “Please promise you’ll be there next week, otherwise I’ll have to tell Di I can’t go.” The thought of enduring another week as third wheel to the lovebirds is too much to bear.
“What if you promise to be my girlfriend?” Sully is still whispering as he leans against the wall of the house next door with his arms crossed across his chest, staring at me, a fresh coolness about his demeanor. New self-confidence washes over him; it’s the same look he had when he asked me to dance tonight.
I don’t hesitate. Looking into his eyes as best I can in the darkened alleyway, I say, “I promise.”
In a flash, Sully roughly pecks me on the lips and rushes off, leaving me alone. Shocked, I stand there for a moment processing what has happened, listening to his footsteps running away as my fingertips softly touch my lips.
And so begins our innocent love story. As the weeks go on, we blossom, and the relationship grows. The
At the next Friday night disco, Sully is a no-show again, and Terry doesn’t seem to know where he is, nor does he offer any explanation or excuse for Sully’s behavior. The night drags on, and I don’t enjoy myself at all. I decide that I won’t be coming to the disco the following week, and I probably won’t be hanging out with Di much, either.
At the end of the night, the lights fade, and the final song starts: Foreigner’s “Waiting For a Girl Like You.” Out of nowhere, Sully appears and asks me to dance, but this time there is something different about him. We find ourselves back on the dance floor, a little less awkward. His hands are much more relaxed this time, resting on the curve of my back. His body is less stiff, moving more fluidly to the rhythm of the music. He actually is good at dancing, and I feel my hands relaxing on his shoulders, our young bodies drawing closer together. I can feel his breath against my temple, and I can smell some sort of aftershave on him that I have never noticed before. I decide I like the aftershave, and I also like being this close to Sully. It feels … nice. At the end of the song, he doesn’t run off; instead, we wait for Diana and Terry and we all walk home together. Diana and Terry are in front, and Sully and I walk behind them in silence.
“Where were you this week, Sully?” I finally find the courage to ask him.
“My mum needed me to help her this week, so I wasn’t allowed out after school,” he replies, never taking his eyes off the ground.
“I thought maybe you were in trouble or something. Will you be around next week?” I ask, hoping that he will say yes.
“Yeah, I might be around next week, if you want me to.” Sully looks at me briefly, a bit embarrassed, but smiles his quirky smile that makes my tummy do somersaults. He quickly returns his eyes to the road.
“Of course I want you to, I missed you this week. It’s been awful hanging out with Romeo and Juliet all by myself.” We both giggle at our pet name for Terry and Diana, then we are silent again and only our footsteps can be heard down Collgate Avenue.
We get to the top of my street—the point at which I usually run off to my house—when Sully announces to Terry that he’s going to walk me home. Both Terry and Di stop, stunned by his announcement. I shrug at them in response; I don’t know why Sully is walking me to my door.
We call out our goodbyes and separate, going in opposite directions. Sully and I saunter slowly toward my house, which is only about five houses down from where we split from our friends. I have to go down the side alley to the back gate to get in, as my mum left the back door open for me. Sully follows me down the narrow alleyway between our house and the neighbors. It is dark and quiet; the only light is the faint orange glow from the street lights on the main road.
“Did you really miss me this week?” Sully whispers as we near the end of the alley,approaching my gate.
“Yes, I was bored stiff!” I whisper back. “Please promise you’ll be there next week, otherwise I’ll have to tell Di I can’t go.” The thought of enduring another week as third wheel to the lovebirds is too much to bear.
“What if you promise to be my girlfriend?” Sully is still whispering as he leans against the wall of the house next door with his arms crossed across his chest, staring at me, a fresh coolness about his demeanor. New self-confidence washes over him; it’s the same look he had when he asked me to dance tonight.
I don’t hesitate. Looking into his eyes as best I can in the darkened alleyway, I say, “I promise.”
In a flash, Sully roughly pecks me on the lips and rushes off, leaving me alone. Shocked, I stand there for a moment processing what has happened, listening to his footsteps running away as my fingertips softly touch my lips.
And so begins our innocent love story. As the weeks go on, we blossom, and the relationship grows. The
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