KATE’S STORY (chapter 114)

Chad Kozak drove home the last week of August. He was exhausted. School had yet to start—wouldn’t, in fact, for a week—but Chad was on the football team and late August was time for two-a-days.

Not only was he on the football team—he was the starting quarterback. He had been, in fact, since midway through his sophomore year. He was a talented young man who was already attracting attention from college recruiters. More importantly, to him, Oceanview High had finished the season strong last year and, having lost very few starters, were poised for a big year this year. A state championship was not out of the question.

Chad had it all going on. He was handsome, a star athlete, a good student. In other words, he was the quintessential BMOC. Unfortunately, he had realized he wasn’t all that happy.

It had started to set in the past spring, at the Junior Prom. He questioned why he hadn’t noticed it before then, but he guessed he was just reveling in the attention. He knew a lot of people wanted to hang around with him because he was the BMOC, but he could live with that. What he couldn’t live with is that the dawning realization that people he thought were her friends, people he was close to, acted the same way.

And first on that list was his date for that Junior Prom, Brittany Coombs. She wasn’t just his date, she was his girlfriend, and had been for over a year at that time. It was the stereotypical high school scenario—he was the star quarterback, she was the head cheerleader. He was tall and handsome, she was blonde and buxom. They looked great together.

The only problem was, it seemed that all Brittany cared about was how they looked. It got worse over the summer, as Brittany seemed to insist that every date be an opportunity for them to parade around together in public. They never talked. They were rarely intimate—they had taken each other’s virginity the previous summer, but Brittany never treated sex as anything other than a chore. Chad was a typical teenaged boy—he liked sex—but making love to Brittany had become so soul-numbing that he quit trying. Everyone around them thought that they were the perfect couple, but what they had become was the perfect public couple—and Chad was no longer satisfied with that.

Two weeks before, he had ended it. Brittany acted crushed, but Chad knew by now that what she was really upset about was how it was going to look. His friends on the football team couldn’t believe it—how could he dump the star cheerleader, the school babe? He couldn’t explain it to most of them.

Chad had two close friends. Butch Ullman was on the football team—in fact, he was a receiver, and Chad’s favorite target—and he had talked enough with Chad to have an idea about his dissatisfaction with his relationship with Brittany. Butch didn’t understand it completely, but he understood somewhat. Chad’s other best friend was Ben DiLillo. Ben wasn’t a football player—in fact, he was a computer geek—but they had grown up together and had maintained their friendship. Chad had often defended Ben from teasing by the other football players. Everyone pretty much left Ben alone nowadays. Plus, Ben had written a dynamite program to chart the team’s statistics.

Ben was the one guy who understood. "Chad, I never understood what you saw in her, anyway."

"You didn’t? You never said anything."

"What, I was going to tell my best friend—who, incidentally, can beat me to a bloody pulp—that I thought his girlfriend was an empty-headed slave to appearance? I don’t think so."

So, at least he had one pal that knew him as more than the BMOC. He didn’t know if that was enough, though, as he started his senior year in high school—a year that was primed to define the term Glory Days—very unsettled.

Chad was still unsettled on the first day of school—especially as he approached his last class of the morning, before lunch. I should have changed this, he said to himself.

Oceanview offered an elective class in Ballroom Dancing. It worked as a credit for physical education. Brittany had convinced him to sign up with her when they were still together. Now he regretted it.

He walked in. He was surprised at the number of people. It was well known that Mrs. Meyer, the instructor, insisted on an equal number of girls and boys in her class. He thought that would keep the numbers down. But there were quite a few guys milling around. Evidently, word had gotten out that the class was a good place to meet girls.

Brittany was there, of course. She called to Chad immediately, and he waved, but tried to stay as far away from her as possible. Then, Mrs. Meyer came in and the group settled down.

"OK. First thing you need to do is pick a partner. This will be your partner for at least the first week. After that, you’ll have a chance to change if you want. No big deal, just pair off."

Oh, crap, Chad thought. I don’t know anyone in this class except Brittany and some of her cheerleading friends she roped in. Chad stood there, looking around nervously, when he saw Brittany making a beeline towards him. He turned around and saw a slender girl with red hair standing behind him.

"You," he said. "I pick you."

"Me?" the red-head said.

Seeing Brittany approaching from the corner of his eye, he said, "Yes. Please. Come here, quickly, I’m begging you." She grabbed his hand with a questioning look. Then he heard, "Chad?"

"Sorry, Brittany, already got a partner." She stomped off in fury. Then he looked at the redhead. "Thank you so much. You just saved my life."

"Really? How did I do that?"

"That was my ex-girlfriend. We signed up for this class when we were still together, and she is the last person I want for a partner."

"Oh, she dumped you?"

"Actually, I dumped her. She no doubt saw this as a way to try to rekindle things."

"Aah. Breaking off a relationship is no fun."

"You sound like you’ve been there, done that."

"Yeah, beginning of the summer."

"Only a month for me." He held out his hand. "By the way, I’m Chad Kozak."

"I know who you are, I go to the football games," she giggled. "Katherine Thompson. Kate to my friends."

"Ah. May I call you Kate, then?"

"Why not? If we’re going to be dancing together, we might as well be friends, right?"

They learned some of the more simple steps at first, laughing at some of their stumbling efforts. Mrs. Meyer called a break, and had some drinks available.

"Whew, this is hard," Kate said.

"Yeah."

"So, you took this class because the ex roped you into it?"

"Something like that. What’s your excuse?"

Kate laughed. "I just want to learn to do this. My stepsister and her fiancé are professional ice dancers, but they can also ballroom dance up a storm, and it always looked so fun."

"Ah. Yeah, I remember two skaters from Oceanview in the Olympics. My mom and sister are figure skating fanatics, so I had to sit through the Olympics."

"Yeah, that’s them," Kate giggled. "Sophia Daniels and Warren Kelleher. Sophia’s mom married my Dad a couple years ago. I love Sophia to death, and Warren’s pretty damn cool, too."

"Wasn’t, um, there some kind of scandal with them? She was pregnant or something?"

"She was definitely pregnant," Kate confirmed. "My niece’s name is Betsy, she’s a month old. And next summer I get to be a bridesmaid at the wedding."

"I didn’t think they were that old."

"Sophie’s 20, Warren’s 19. But they’ve been together since they were 14. There was never any doubt in anyone’s mind that they were going to get married someday. The baby just pushed it up a couple years."

"Together since they were 14? I can barely imagine that."

"You have to know these two. True love."

"That’s cool."

Kate punched him in the arm. "Oh, so the football jock believes in true love, eh?"

"Hey, football jocks have feelings, too."

"One learns something new every day, doesn’t one?" Kate grinned at him.

"I think we have to dance again."

"Uh-huh."

They danced in class all that week. They laughed their way through it most of the time, but were actually picking up some of the steps. The next Monday, Mrs. Meyer entered class and said, "OK, anyone who thinks they’d do better with another partner, please raise your hand."

Brittany looked over at Chad. He looked at Kate. They smiled at each other. Neither of their hands went up, much to Brittany’s consternation.

"So, your first game is Friday night?" Kate asked at their break.

"Yeah. You going?"

"I always go. I like sports. Basketball’s my favorite, but I like football, too."

"Cool. Practices have been brutal. Salem’s got a good team this year."

"I heard. Just think, though, what all this dancing is going to do for your agility. You’ll be dancing past all those onrushing linemen. They’ll call you Twinkletoes," Kate teased.

"Not the way I dance. They’re more liable to call me Step-on-her-Toes. I’m surprised I haven’t put your foot in a cast yet."

Kate laughed. "I have strong feet."

"With me around, you’ll need them."

The next couple of days went by. Chad was becoming increasingly comfortable with Kate, and looked forward to their class more and more. They were at break Thursday, chatting as usual.

"Damn, look at Brittany glaring at you," Kate said with a chuckle. "What an expression. I wish I had time to fish out my sketchpad."

"Sketchpad?"

"Yeah. I’m an artist. I’m more of a painter, but I often paint from sketches I do during the day."

"Waitaminnit," Chad started, "I’m an idiot. I can’t believe I didn’t make the connection before this. Katherine Thompson. That mural in the front foyer is yours!"

"Yeah," Kate said, pleased. "They commissioned me to do that this summer."

"It’s great. Really brightened the place up."

"Thanks."

"Kate, I was wondering," Chad said hesitantly, "if you were doing anything Saturday night? If not, I’d love to take you out. Dinner and a movie, or something."

Kate’s face clouded over. "Chad, I just don’t think that’s a good idea."

"Why not?"

"I just don’t."

"You’ve got to have a better answer than that."

"What’s the matter," Kate taunted, angry that he wouldn’t accept her answer, "the big football star not used to being turned down?"

"I went out with the same girl for a year and a half, I’m not used to asking!"

Kate looked a bit sheepish, but then Mrs. Meyer called the class back to order.

When the class ended, with Kate and Chad arm-in-arm in a dance hold, Chad didn’t release her right away.

"Kate," he said. "Eat lunch with me."

"I don’t think that’s a good idea, either."

"Please. Look, if you can explain this to me, I won’t bug you again. I’ll even request another partner, if you want. But we get along. We’ve gotten along since this class started. I’d like to get to know you better. I don’t understand why you’d say no right out of hand."

Kate sighed. "OK, let’s go to lunch and we’ll talk."

They grabbed their lunch trays and found an out-of-the-way table outside on the patio.

"Look, it’s like this," Kate began. "I like you, I’ll admit it. But you’re the Man, the football hero, and I’m a geeky artist. It could never work."

"I still don’t get it."

"First of all, how would you feel walking into one of the football team’s parties with me on your arm? What would the guys on the team say? How much teasing would you get? If we started going out, you’d get tired of the novelty in a hurry, and run back to Brittany or some other cheerleader-type in a hurry You’re a football player."

Chad just glared at her. "OK. You’re right. Going out would be a bad idea."

"I’m glad you—"

Chad kept talking. "Yeah, because I’m pretty sure I don’t want to go out with someone who insults me like you just did!"

"Insulted you?!?"

"You’re damn right you did." Chad was indignant. "You just told me that I can’t pick a date without the help of my friends. You also told me that dating you would just be a ‘novelty’ for me, like I want to slum with the geeky artist or something before I go back to my usual diet of cheerleaders, seeing as I’m a football player and can’t help myself."

"I did not…….um, oh shit, I did, didn’t I?"

"Yeah, you did." Kate buried her face in her hands. "Kate." She looked up. "Eat your lunch. Let me tell you a story. I went out with the head cheerleader for a year and a half. We were The Couple. We won king and queen at the prom last year. Now, we started going out as sophomores, so maybe it was just youth at first. But, by the end, I hated it. I broke it off because I couldn’t go out with someone that I had no emotional connection with anymore."

"Now, as for teasing from my teammates, they think I’m nuts for dumping Brittany in the first place. I could show up at a party with your Grandmother and they’d just think it was another step down the path I’m already on. If what my teammates thought about my dates mattered, I’d never have broken up with Brittany. I’m tired of living my life based on appearances. Just because I play football doesn’t make me shallow."

Kate sighed. "I went out with Dave for a long time. I broke it off because I couldn’t change myself to please him."

"I don’t want to change you. And I wouldn’t be embarrassed to walk down the street with you, as you seem to be implying."

Kate got a gleam in her eye. "OK. Prove it."

"Prove it?"

"I’ll go out with you Saturday, on one condition. You go out with me tomorrow first."

"Kate, I have a game tomorrow.."

"I know that. After the game. You’re going to take me to Dunkin Donuts for a cup of java. I’m going to be waiting for you, in the stadium, and you’re going to leave your teammates, come get me, and take me for coffee."

Chad looked at her, and then smiled. "Ah, I see. A test. I’d say you drive a hard bargain, but I’d be glad to take you for coffee after the game."

"I’m holding you to that."

At the end of their dance class the next day, Chad looked at Kate and said, "So, how do you take your coffee?" as he walked away. And then he winked.

Kate sat in the football stadium with her friends. She told herself she wasn’t nervous, but she was lying to herself.

The game was great. Oceanview won in a rout. Kate watched the players leave, and watched the crowd file out. She knew it would take Chad a while to change. So, she waited.

"Great game, Kozak," running back Tom Evers told him.

"You too, Evers."

"You want to go out and do something?" his pal Butch asked him.

"Sorry, got plans," Chad told them. "A certain lady is waiting for me out in the stands so I can take her for coffee. And we can plan our date tomorrow night."

"You got back with Brittany?" Jack Indrusky, a lineman, asked him.

"Not on your life."

"So, who are you taking out?" Tom Evers asked.

"Kate Thompson," Chad told them.

"KATE THOMPSON???" Jack exclaimed. "The artist? Why on earth her?"

"I like her," Chad said simply.

"He can have any girl in this school and he picks Kate Thompson," Tom said.

"Yeah, and I had to talk her into it."

"HUH?" Jack blurted.

"Yeah. I had to convince her I wasn’t just another shallow football jock. See you guys later." He left the locker room and headed out. Butch went with him.

"Kate Thompson? You sure?" Butch asked.

"Yeah. You know her?"

"I don’t know her. I know who she is. You got to admit, she doesn’t travel in the same social circles as you."

"Butch, who, besides you, is my other best friend."

"Benny." Butch sighed. "Ah, I see your point. If you gave a damn about social circles, you would have dumped Benny years ago, instead of defending him, and bringing him into our group."

"Exactly. Tell me, Butch, what do you think of Benny?"

"I like Ben. He’s a great guy."

"My point exactly."

Butch looked at his friend, and grinned. "So, where is this chick?"

Chad laughed. "In the stands. Come say hello."

Chad saw her. She was wearing a long print skirt, a white blouse, and a big floppy hat. She was talking with someone. As Chad got closer, he realized it was Ben DiLillo.

"Hey, DiLillo, you making time with my date?" Kate looked at him, not realizing he was kidding.

"That wasn’t a very nice thing to say. Ben’s a friend of mine." Kate said indignantly.

"Ah, Kozak’s just kidding. You’re actually going out with this oaf?" Ben said to Kate.

Kate was thoroughly confused by now. "Oaf? Better an oaf like me than a computer weenie like you." Chad said.

"Be nice to me, star quarterback, or you won’t get no stats from me. Or I’ll doctor them so the coach can read out that you were 7 for 25 with three interceptions."

"DiLillo, when was the last time I threw three interceptions?"

"Everett game, last year."

"Damn. You had to remind me, didn’t you?"

"You asked."

"It was a rhetorical question, you over-brained geek."

"I’m surprised you know what rhetorical means, helmet-head."

Kate was sitting on the bleachers, totally confused. She then noticed someone sitting with her—a tall African-American guy she knew was also on the football team.

"Ain’t this entertaining?" he said with a chuckle. "You must be Kate. I’m Butch Ullman, Chad’s other best friend. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to these two. They always do this. I just enjoy the front-row seat, myself."

"Other best friend?" Kate asked him.

"Don’t let these two confuse you. They’ve been best pals since first grade."

"They have?"

"Yeah. Hey, guys, break it up, would you? I think the lady wants some coffee, Chad, ol’ pal."

Chad looked down sheepishly. "Sorry, Kate. DiLillo grates on my last nerve."

"Last brain cell is more like it," Ben said. Then he smiled. "Just kidding. Have a good time. Kate, go easy on him, he’s a dumb football player."

"Yeah, yeah," Chad laughed.

"Nice meeting you," Butch said to Kate. "Hey, DiLillo, how bout I kick your ass at chess?"

"You can try." They walked off together.

Kate just gaped at Chad. "You and Ben are friends?"

"Best friends. Since we were, like, seven."

"But, you’re so different?"

"Not as much as you think," Chad said. Kate just looked at him, as he smiled and led her out of the stadium to his car.

They got to Dunkin’ Donuts, ordered coffee and a few donuts, and grabbed a table.

"OK, so I’ll go out with you tomorrow. I warn you, you don’t know what you’re getting into."

"Oh, really. How so?"

"I’m an artist," Kate grinned. "We’re a little different."

"Kate. You didn’t think I could figure that out just by the way you dress?"

"Oh, well……."

"I like it. It’s distinctive. You’ve got a good eye," Chad told her.

"A good artist has to have a good eye," Kate said.

"That’s funny," Chad said, looking right into her eyes, "so does a quarterback."

Just then, Brittany appeared at her table.

"Hi Chad!"

"Hi Brittany," he said, not very pleasantly.

"What are you doing?"

" Sharing a cup of coffee," Chad said pointedly.

Brittany chose to ignore it. "Chad, I was wondering, are you busy tomorrow night?"

"I have a date," he said, smiling at Kate.

"With her?" Brittany spat. "Why on earth would you go out with that?"

Kate smiled sweetly at her and said, "Maybe he decided he wanted a date with someone that doesn’t wear her brains in her bra?" Chad laughed so hard he spat out a mouthful of coffee.

"How dare you?" Brittany erupted.

"Oh, go primp, would you? Your makeup’s not globbed on enough, I can still see your face," Kate said, waving her hand dismissively. Brittany stomped off, fuming.

Chad just looked at Kate with a gleam in his eye. "You’re a barracuda!"

"I told you that you didn’t know what you were getting into."

"Kate, that was not disapproval."

They just grinned at each other.

Their first date went very well. They quickly arranged a second. And a third. Even the dance class was going well. The last two dates had ended with a deep kiss, but it hadn’t gone further than that.

The next one was a little different than the first three, though. Kate got into one of her legendary painting grooves and completely lost track of time.

She flew down the stairs, finding Sophia and Betsy there. "WHAT TIME IS IT!"

"Six," Sophia told her. "I called you two hours ago, at four."

"Shit." Just then, the doorbell rang. "OH SHIT! Sophie, can you answer that, stall him or something?"

"Sorry, I’m busy. Betsy’s got poo poo pants," Sophia said, reaching for a diaper.

"SHIT." Kate took a deep breath and opened the door. It was, as she had feared, Chad. "Oh, Chad, I’m so sorry. I completely lost track of time. Come in."

He did, and gaped at her. She was wearing paint-splattered overalls and a similarly splattered tee-shirt. She had blotches of paint on her face, hands, and even a bit in her hair.

"I’m so sorry. I start painting, and lose myself. I’ll go clean up, it won’t take long."

"You look like a goddess," Chad blurted out.

"What? All covered in paint?"

"Yeah," Chad told her with a silly little grin on his face. "Um, uh, yeah, go get cleaned up. No hurry."

"OK," she looked at him strangely. "Soph, entertain the big lug, would you?"

"Sure," Sophia giggled. "Come on in, sit down. You must be Chad. I’m Sophia, Kate’s sister."

"Nice to meet you. I’ve seen you skate."

"Cool. I’ve seen you play football. I went to a game with Kate a couple weeks ago." They chatted for a while, about skating and football.

After a few minutes, Sophia asked him, "You want something to drink?"

"Um, OK, that would be good."

"Fine. You need to help me out, though." She got off the couch and walked over to the other couch where he was sitting. "Ever hold a baby before?"

"Not one this small."

"You’ll be fine. Hold her up to your chest, and just make sure you support her head." Sophia put the baby in his hands. "Betsy, Chad. Chad, Betsy," she giggled. "Be right back with the cokes."

Chad looked down at the little baby. "I hope I’m holding you right, Betsy. You’re a bit bigger than a football." Just then, the baby opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Aren’t you a cutie!" Chad exclaimed. "Boy, you’re a good baby. Strange guy is holding you and you don’t even peep."

Meanwhile, Kate came flying down the back stairs into the kitchen. "Soph. Do I look OK?"

"You look fine. I think you broke land speed records," she giggled.

"Great. Where’s Betsy?"

"Go see," Sophia said, pointing towards the living room with a grin. Kate looked at her, then turned into the living room. She walked in—and stopped dead in her tracks, as she saw her big, football-playing date making googoo eyes at her baby niece.

If her heart didn’t melt at the goddess comment, it did then.

Sophia walked up behind her, carrying the cokes. "Isn’t he cute?" she whispered to Kate as she walked by her. "So, she behave for you?" Sophia asked Chad.

"Yeah. She’s a really good-natured baby."

"That she is. Here, I’ll take her. Drink your coke."

"Bye bye Betsy," Chad cooed, as Sophia scooped her up and left the room, winking at Kate as she left. Just then, Chad spotted Kate.

"Hi. I didn’t see you there. You ready to go?"

"In a minute. Finish your drink." She sat next to him on the couch. When he put his drink back on the table, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. "You’re a dear, you know that?"

"What was that for?"

"Lots of things. Finish your coke." He did, bemused, and they got in the car. They started driving to the restaurant. "I have to tell you something," Kate began.

"OK, shoot."

"I dated a fellow artist for two years. He was used to seeing me paint-splattered. My Dad’s seen it all my life." She took a deep breath. "I’ve never been called a goddess before."

"I just blurted it out."

"But you meant it," Kate persisted.

"Yeah, I meant it." Chad took a deep breath. "I can’t explain it. It was like I had a glimpse at your soul."

"That might be the most beautiful thing anyone’s ever said to me." She looked at him. "I think I had a similar experience."

"Huh?"

"When I saw you holding my niece."

They pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot, and smiled at each other. They had a wonderful meal, and enjoyed the movie afterwards. When he took her home, their good-night kiss was longer and deeper than ever before.

When Kate got home, Sophia was still upstairs, watching a movie.

"Where’s Warren, by the way?" Kate asked her.

"I gave him a night off," Sophia giggled. "Actually, he’s over his parents, helping his Mom and Dad with some remodeling project in their dining room."

"Cool. We can hang out," Kate giggled.

"Sounds good to me," Sophia agreed. "So. Chad, huh? I got to tell you, he’s a hunk."

"That he is," Kate giggled. "At first, that was the major appeal, I’ll admit it. However, I’m starting to discover that there is so much more to him than that."

"Yeah, I twigged onto that when I saw him holding Betsy," Sophia agreed.

"You too, huh?" Kate said. "Did you hear what he said when I opened the door in my overalls?"

"No," Sophia told her. Kate repeated the goddess comment, and then told her what Chad had said in the car. "Wow, he knows the way to your heart, doesn’t he?" Sophia giggled.

"Yeah. It seems that way."

"Could’ve been a line, though, Kate."

"Yeah, it could have been, but every instinct tells me it wasn’t. You should have seen the way he said it—like he was just discovering something. And if it was a line designed to get me into bed or something, you’d think he’d be trying to get me into bed. He’s been a perfect gentleman. Too much so, if I’m being honest," Kate giggled.

Sophia looked at Kate. "You really like this guy, don’t you?"

"Yeah, I really like this guy." Kate looked off into space. "Going out with him is like painting something really good."

"OK, you’re going to have to explain that one."

"The longer I do it, the more I see. The more colors I add, the longer I work, and the painting starts revealing itself in ways that I didn’t expect. You have something in your mind, and then you work on it, and it becomes so much more than what you originally expected."

"Wow," Sophia said.

"Wow is the word," Kate agreed. "Soph, I am falling for this guy and in a hurry. I had every guard I own up, because of what happened with Dave, and he’s still getting through them."

"I don’t have a game this Friday. We have an off week," Chad told Kate at dance class that Monday.

"Are you requesting the pleasure of my company on Friday as well as Saturday?" Kate teased.

"Yeah. But, the thing is this—there’s a party. The team. We always have a party on our off week. I want you to go with me."

"Do you really?"

"Absolutely. I was afraid you wouldn’t want to go."

"Yes. Absolutely."

"I need to warn you, the cheerleaders generally go, so Brittany will be there."

"Fuck Brittany."

"Nah, done that, it wasn’t much fun." Chad clapped his hand over his mouth, as Kate’s eyes opened wide. "Oh, shit, did I say that out loud?" Kate cracked up laughing.

"Don’t worry, dear, your secret is safe with me."

As Friday approached, Kate found herself becoming more apprehensive. This is what she had been afraid of—him taking her to a football party and her not fitting in, and him figuring out that they weren’t right for each other.

He picked her up, and she found she was really nervous. Chad picked up on it.

"You OK?"

"Yeah."

"You’re nervous, aren’t you?"

"Yeah."

"Don’t be. It’ll be fine."

"Easy for you to say." She looked down at herself. "I should have dressed normal. I wasn’t thinking."

"Normal? You?" He looked at her. She was wearing a black-and-red-plaid tartan skirt, a white shirt with a black leather eighties-style skinny tie, and a black fedora. On anyone else, it would have looked ridiculous. On her, it looked just right. "If you dressed like everybody else, I wouldn’t know who you were. Besides which, you look fabulous. The fedora is a nice touch."

She giggled. "Of course, this is from a man who likes paint-splattered overalls. I should have worn those."

"I’d go along with that."

"You really are something else," she said softly.

They got to the party and made their way inside. Kate could sense all the eyes on her. Chad just gently led her in, his arm possessively around her waist, greeting his friends and making introductions. They found their way to a couch. Kate still felt self-conscious.

"Hey, man." Butch had appeared and slapped hands with Chad. "Hiya Kate. You look fine tonight. You got style."

"Thanks," Kate beamed. "I kinda feel like a freak."

""You are a freak," Butch teased her. "But that’s a good thing. Too many cookie cutters around here. I’m not dressed like all the zombies, either."

"You’re right, you’re not."

"Of course," he whispered, "all the white guys expect a black man to dress funky. You don’t have that excuse."

Kate cracked up laughing. "No, I’m an artist, that’s my excuse."

"Works for me. I’ll be back, children." He sauntered off to greet someone else.

"Butch is really nice," Kate told Chad.

"That he is."

Kate loosened up a bit, but was still uncomfortable. Chad, to his credit, did everything he could to make her more comfortable. A bunch of guys from the team had gathered around him and were discussing the last game, a victory over Medford that was close and difficult.

"I still don’t know why they were getting to you so often," one of the guys told Chad.

"The weakside blitz," Kate piped up, without thinking. The guys just turned and stared at her. "Well, that weakside linebacker was getting a free lane right into Chad. He was only getting caught when you guys had the fullback out on the wing. I’m surprised Coach Torrance didn’t pick up on that earlier. And when one of the lineman was picking up the weakside ‘backer, one of their ends was getting in. I don’t know why Coach didn’t call a few screen passes to Tom, there, you had gaping holes on the weakside out in the flat, because they were bringing that backer almost every play."

Kate was so caught up in her dissertation that she didn’t notice until she had finished that jaws were hitting the floor. She grinned sheepishly. "Hey, I know football. I was screaming ‘throw the damn screen!’ from up in the stands."

The guys on the football team were still stunned, until Tom Evers looked at Chad, looked at Kate, looked back at Chad, and finally said, "Jesus. Don’t let this one get away, would you, Chad?"

Kate loosened up considerably after that. Chad was delighted.

When Chad picked her up the next night, he said to her, "You know what? You know football, you go to all of my games, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of your paintings, except for that mural in the foyer at school."

"Do you want to?"

"Yeah."

"My best one is downstairs. Come here," She led Chad into the kitchen, and pushed an intercom. "Are you guys decent? I want to bring Chad down there to show him something."

"Yeah, we’re decent," Chad heard a male voice chuckle. "C’mon down."

They went downstairs and Kate knocked on a door. Chad could see Sophia open the door. Chad walked in behind Kate and found himself in a small apartment. "You’ve met Sophia and Betsy," Kate giggled. "This is Warren, my future brother-in-law. Warren, Chad." They shook.

Kate pointed to a wall, where the painting she had done a couple years back of Warren and Sophia skating was hung. "That’s at least one of my best."

Chad stared at it for a minute. "Wow," he said finally. "That’s fantastic."

"We liked it," Sophia told him.

When they got in the car, Chad told Kate, "You’re really talented. Are you planning on studying art in college?"

"Yeah, I plan to go to Mass Art, in Boston." She looked at him. "What about you, plan on being a football jock in college?"

"Looks that way. I’m getting recruited, from schools all over the country. However, Boston College is still the front-runner."

"Good," Kate giggled.

"Hm, you seem happy that we’re planning on attending college in the same city," Chad teased.

"Yeah, I am," Kate said softly.

"Good. So am I," Chad agreed. They went in and ate, and had been planning on going to a movie, but Chad decided he wasn’t in the mood. Instead, he drove to the beach.

"You planning on going swimming? In November?" Kate teased him.

"No, it’s just that nobody’s here, the view is nice, and I wanted to talk."

"OK."

"Look, we’ve been taking this slow, kind of feeling our way around each other. I understand why. It was a good thing. We both just ended relationships, we were both wary, and we wanted to get to know one another better. So, I didn’t mind taking it slow." Chad said.

"But you don’t want to take it slow anymore," Kate said.

"No. But I’m not just talking about physical." He took a deep breath. "Kate, I’m falling in love with you."

Kate inhaled sharply. "You are?" she managed to get out.

"Yeah. Is that so crazy?"

"Yeah, it’s crazy." Kate laughed and launched herself over the front seat towards him, wrapping her arms around him. "Wonderful crazy. We’re the most unlikely couple in all of Oceanview High." Her voice dropped. "And I’ve been falling in love with you for a while now."

"Oh, I’m so glad you said that," Chad said with real relief.

Kate giggled, and looked up at him, taking her face in his hands. "Chad?" Their eyes locked. "Stop going slow."

He blinked, and then devoured her. His lips were on hers, his tongue in her mouth, kissing and nibbling at her in a frenzy. She felt like she was drowning. But then she pulled away.

"Dammit, this steering wheel is killing me," she said.

Chad looked at her. "Back seat."

"Good idea." They made it back there in a flash, and were all over each other again. Their lips clashed, tongues tried to invade, and she ran her hands all over his back, through his hair. He broke from her lips to kiss all over her face and down her neck. His hands were working the buttons on her blouse. He had them undone in no time, slipped her shirt off, and reached around and undid her bra. He cupped her breast in his hand, and Kate moaned. She reached out to him, attempting to pull his shirt over his head, until he pulled back long enough to let her. She stroked his muscular chest as he kneaded his hand into her tit. Their lips were locked, and Chad could feel Kate moaning through the kisses.

He kissed down her neck and took one of her nipples in his mouth. She whined, and moaned, and writhed in the seat. His hands were all over her, and one crept up her legs under her skirt. She lifted up so he could pull her panties off, and his fingers were all over her. He plunged one deep inside her and she jumped, letting out a little scream. He slid his finger in and out as she bucked on his hand and sobbed. Her hands had been rubbing his chest, and now they moved down, clawing at the button on his pants.

He helped her, and his pants were down in a flash. Her hands wrapped around his cock, and she moaned, and then looked down. "My word, you’re big all over, aren’t you?" she said. She sat up in the seat, and maneuvered him so he was kneeling in front of her. "Chad, I want that big boy in me, and I want it now."

"Um, wait a minute, I need something….." he said, groping on the floor for his pants.

"No you don’t," Kate grinned at him. "I’m on the pill. Fuck me."

He looked at her. She was flushed all the way down her breasts. Her green eyes were sparkling. She was breathing heavy. Chad couldn’t believe it. Brittany had been unresponsive and cold. Chad had never seen anything like this spitfire sitting in his back seat begging him to fuck her.

For Kate’s part, she was on fire. Sex with Dave had been fun and satisfying, but nothing like this. His kisses burned into her. His touch burned into her. His hand on her tit almost made her go into orgasm right then. She was in a frenzy.

"Do it," she whispered to him. He lifted her skirt up out of the way, and aimed his cock at her slit. With one stroke, he plunged in to the hilt.

That was all it took. Kate screamed, and started cumming with that first long stroke. Chad looked at her, astonished, watching her back bow and her chest heave, feeling her pussy clamp down on his dick. Her frenzy reached him. He had wanted to go slow and easy, but that didn’t last long. Before he knew it, he was pounding into her relentlessly. She put her legs around his waist and set her feet along the back of the front seat behind him, so she could get more leverage. She was pounding back at him just as relentlessly. His hands pawed her tits, as she put hers on his ass, pulling him even deeper into her. "YES! YES! FUCK! YES!" she screamed on every stroke. When she bucked and howled and spasmed again, Chad hit his limit. He jammed into her hard one last time, and came into her harder than he ever had in his life.

Kate flopped over onto the seat like a rag doll as Chad slipped out of her. For his part, Chad sank down on the floor of the car, astonished.

"What the hell just happened?" he mumbled to himself.

"An explosion?" a voice giggled softly from the seat.

"Something like that. Are you OK?" he asked.

"What a silly question." She sat up on the seat, and patted next to her. He scrambled up from the floor and sat there. "Just don’t expect me to be coherent for, like, three days," she laughed.

"You’re an animal," he said in wonder.

"Uh-huh," she agreed, still giggling. "It either comes from my passionate, artistic nature or my red hair, depending on which issue of Cosmo you read."

He laughed, and then sobered. "I’ve never seen anything like that in my whole life."

"You sound like you’re in shock."

"I think I am." He looked at her. "I never knew it could be like that. You’re aggressive."

"And the big football jock isn’t used to aggressive girls."

"As I once said to you before, Kate, that was not disapproval." She giggled, and he continued. "You have to understand. Brittany was passive to the point of catatonia. We didn’t make love at all for the last six months we were going out, because I got tired of watching her lie there like a blow-up doll while I got myself off on her. It was unsatisfying. It got to be borderline pathetic. This," he pointed vaguely to the seat," was….. amazing."

Kate absorbed that for a minute. "Brittany had sex with you because she felt obligated to." Chad nodded agreement. "I had sex with you because I wanted to. I love you. And I’m not going to lie, I enjoy sex. Although, I must admit, not like that." She laughed. "Dave wasn’t as hopeless as Brittany apparently was, but I’ve never felt like this in my life. I’m still tingling all over. And speaking of aggressive, you’re no shrinking violet. I thought your dick was going to pop out of the top of my head at one point."

Chad laughed. "I fully intended to go slow and easy and gentle. I really did. I couldn’t help myself."

"Neither could I, I wasn’t exactly letting you ease up. I think I put fingernail-sized indentations in your ass," she laughed. "Which is fair, because you did the same to my tits."

He looked down and saw the red blotches on her breasts. "Oh, Jesus, did I do that?"

"You sure did. And I loved every minute of it."

"Damn, I sure didn’t mean to leave bruises."

"Bruises? Those are love marks." She looked at him. "I’m glad we got to know each other before we had sex. I’m glad I started to fall in love with you before we had sex. And I’m glad we didn’t wait a second more than that before we had sex."

"Me, too," he agreed, "to all of it. I love you. And you are the sexiest creature I’ve ever seen in my life."

"I love you, too, and you’re pretty sexy yourself, hunk." She ran her hand up his arm. "All these delicious muscles."

"I’d accuse you of trying to get me going again, but I don’t think that’s possible."

"Ditto. I’m just admiring the view." She looked around. "We should get dressed, but I have no idea what happened to my bra!"

"So go without," he teased.

"I just might," she grinned at him.

Oceanview won the state championship—over St. Michael’s. "Damn you, beating my alma mater like that," Warren teased Chad the next time he saw him.

The day after the state championship was the weekend of the Grand Prix finals. Kate had the house to herself that Saturday, and Chad spent the whole day, neither of them wearing too many clothes most of the day. Kate had painted Chad, in football gear, releasing a pass, and he was stunned at how good it was. He spent a long time in bed showing her how appreciative he was. They took a few breathers to eat, and to watch Sophia and Warren win the Grand Prix.

Chad found himself spellbound by their Riverdance program. "I never thought of skaters as athletes, especially ice dancers," he said to Kate as they sat in her bed, eating Chinese food and watching the skating. "I was wrong. That program was hard. I don’t skate, and even I could tell how hard it was."

"They’re the best," Kate said. "And, yeah, they are definitely athletes. They’re artists, too."

"That I got right away," Chad said. "I have a soft spot in my heart for artists. One in particular."

"That’s funny, because I have a soft spot in my heart for athletes. One in particular."

"Eat your spare ribs. I want you again."

She dumped the rest of her plate in the trash, and put all the food on the floor. She wrapped herself around him. "Screw the spare ribs," she said with a gleam in her eye.

(End of chapter)