Read Online The Black Stiletto by Raymond Benson - Free Book Online
Authors: Raymond Benson
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jumped rope. I was good at that, even with my long legs.
The men teased me and were sometimes downright abusive just because I was a female encroaching on their territory. But once they saw how good I was, they left me alone. Every now and then, one of the guys would spot me when I worked the heavy bag. When I exercised in front of the men, I’d wear men’s long shorts, a polo shirt, and tennis shoes. I’d tie my hair back in a ponytail. When I was alone in the gym after hours, I wore a dance leotard and tights because they were easier to work out in. I couldn’t parade around like that in front of the men, though; that’d been too much for them to handle, ha ha!
Every now and then some of the guys would make passes at me. They didn’t know how old I really was. Several asked me out on dates, but I always said no. And then there was Mack, the teenager whose nose I’d broken. Ever since that day, he was as nice as he could be to me. He’d try to talk to me and on several occasions asked me to get coffee or something with him. Mack had improved as a boxer and was actually one of Freddie’s promising trainees. I’d seen him win a few bouts in the ring.
On November 4, 1953, the day I turned sixteen, I finally accepted his offer to go out. We went to the East Side Diner for coffee. He even played a song on the jukebox for me, “I’m Walking Behind You” by Eddie Fisher. That was before the rock and rollstuff started, so I wasn’t much of a music fan yet. Lucy was working that day and she winked at me, as if I’d made a conquest of some sort. I guess it was pretty obvious Mack was sweet on me. Funny that it had to take me breaking his nose for him to like me.
Well, we started dating. Mack and me. He was born and raised in Manhattan and was nineteen years old, as I suspected. I didn’t tell him my real age. Mack wanted to be a boxer, naturally. As I said, he’d become pretty good in the ring since I busted his nose. To tell the truth, the broken nose made him more handsome. For the first time in my life, I started having feelings for the opposite sex. In a way, I was relieved—the experience with Douglas hadn’t totally ruined me.
The first time I let him kiss me was on Thanksgiving Day. Freddie cooked a big dinner and I helped. Freddie was a pretty good cook, but I was even better. I guess some of my mom’s ability rubbed off on me. Anyway, we invited a few of our closer friends from the gym—Mack among them—and Lucy and Sam.
It was a grand day and we all stuffed ourselves. While everyone was sitting around, completely satiated, Mack helped me clean up the kitchen. I was about to put away a pot or something, turned around, and there he was. He put his arms around me, leaned in, and kissed me. I still had the pot in my hands! Anyway, it was nice, so I put down the pot and put my arms around him. I’d never kissed like that—on the mouth and, you know, with the tongue—and I really enjoyed it. We spent the rest of the afternoon “making out.”
I guess from then on we were sort of an item. A couple of times we double-dated with Lucy and Sam. I still didn’t like Sam. He was a cad. He flirted with me behind Lucy’s back. Once I asked him, “Isn’t Lucy your girlfriend?” He answered, “Yeah, sure, but that doesn’t mean I can’t sample other items on the menu.” I wanted to break his nose. I almost told Lucy what hewas doing, but I figured it would just hurt her. She liked him too much, although I still didn’t see why.
It was New Year’s Eve, going into 1954, when I lost my virginity. Well, technically I lost it with Douglas, the bastard, but the first time I wanted to “do it” was after the party we had at the gym. Like at Thanksgiving, Freddie and I threw a small party, had a great dinner, lots of drinks—I was still legally too young to drink, but I did—and champagne. Okay, so I was pretty smashed when I took Mack up to my room. But I was perfectly aware of what I was doing. I
The men teased me and were sometimes downright abusive just because I was a female encroaching on their territory. But once they saw how good I was, they left me alone. Every now and then, one of the guys would spot me when I worked the heavy bag. When I exercised in front of the men, I’d wear men’s long shorts, a polo shirt, and tennis shoes. I’d tie my hair back in a ponytail. When I was alone in the gym after hours, I wore a dance leotard and tights because they were easier to work out in. I couldn’t parade around like that in front of the men, though; that’d been too much for them to handle, ha ha!
Every now and then some of the guys would make passes at me. They didn’t know how old I really was. Several asked me out on dates, but I always said no. And then there was Mack, the teenager whose nose I’d broken. Ever since that day, he was as nice as he could be to me. He’d try to talk to me and on several occasions asked me to get coffee or something with him. Mack had improved as a boxer and was actually one of Freddie’s promising trainees. I’d seen him win a few bouts in the ring.
On November 4, 1953, the day I turned sixteen, I finally accepted his offer to go out. We went to the East Side Diner for coffee. He even played a song on the jukebox for me, “I’m Walking Behind You” by Eddie Fisher. That was before the rock and rollstuff started, so I wasn’t much of a music fan yet. Lucy was working that day and she winked at me, as if I’d made a conquest of some sort. I guess it was pretty obvious Mack was sweet on me. Funny that it had to take me breaking his nose for him to like me.
Well, we started dating. Mack and me. He was born and raised in Manhattan and was nineteen years old, as I suspected. I didn’t tell him my real age. Mack wanted to be a boxer, naturally. As I said, he’d become pretty good in the ring since I busted his nose. To tell the truth, the broken nose made him more handsome. For the first time in my life, I started having feelings for the opposite sex. In a way, I was relieved—the experience with Douglas hadn’t totally ruined me.
The first time I let him kiss me was on Thanksgiving Day. Freddie cooked a big dinner and I helped. Freddie was a pretty good cook, but I was even better. I guess some of my mom’s ability rubbed off on me. Anyway, we invited a few of our closer friends from the gym—Mack among them—and Lucy and Sam.
It was a grand day and we all stuffed ourselves. While everyone was sitting around, completely satiated, Mack helped me clean up the kitchen. I was about to put away a pot or something, turned around, and there he was. He put his arms around me, leaned in, and kissed me. I still had the pot in my hands! Anyway, it was nice, so I put down the pot and put my arms around him. I’d never kissed like that—on the mouth and, you know, with the tongue—and I really enjoyed it. We spent the rest of the afternoon “making out.”
I guess from then on we were sort of an item. A couple of times we double-dated with Lucy and Sam. I still didn’t like Sam. He was a cad. He flirted with me behind Lucy’s back. Once I asked him, “Isn’t Lucy your girlfriend?” He answered, “Yeah, sure, but that doesn’t mean I can’t sample other items on the menu.” I wanted to break his nose. I almost told Lucy what hewas doing, but I figured it would just hurt her. She liked him too much, although I still didn’t see why.
It was New Year’s Eve, going into 1954, when I lost my virginity. Well, technically I lost it with Douglas, the bastard, but the first time I wanted to “do it” was after the party we had at the gym. Like at Thanksgiving, Freddie and I threw a small party, had a great dinner, lots of drinks—I was still legally too young to drink, but I did—and champagne. Okay, so I was pretty smashed when I took Mack up to my room. But I was perfectly aware of what I was doing. I
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