Lingering Touch - A Story of Young Love

by Anna Howard

  At the park, Trevor found a ball and threw it gently, teaching Copper how to play fetch. She ate it up. Not literally, of course, she just loved the game. Eventually she started getting tired, or rather, we did, so we decided to take her home. On the way we stopped at a little ice-cream vendor on the street. The girl working there was maybe 14 or 15, young enough that her green eyes were big and innocent and she smiled way too often to be human. But when we stepped up to place our order, her eyes widened as she stared at me blatantly. Trevor cleared his throat and she snapped her attention to him. He asked for two vanilla ice-creams and paid. All the while the girl kept trying to sneak glances at me, as if scared of me or something. Perhaps she was just curious.

  I looked away, down, at Copper, anywhere else from her prying eyes. I looked horrible. I knew it. And she knew it. And the worst part was, I had forgotten for just a minute what had happened, and I had thought, for just one minute, that hey, maybe I actually looked ok. Or maybe I just plain didn't care about what I looked like at the moment, because I was with Trevor, and I was having fun, and it didn't seem to matter.

  "Here's your ice-creams," the girl said quietly, holding the two cones out to us, looking at me. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to you?"

  "Of course she minds you asking!" Trevor growled, "How rude can you be? Come on Ari, let's get out of here."

  "Um, actually it's ok, Trev. I just, uh, I walked into a door. Ha, I know, I'm super clumsy. Nothing really happened. It looks pretty bad though, huh?" I asked the girl, feigning it was a joke.

  Trevor gaped at me, and the girl let out a nervous giggle. I waved cheerfully at her and pulled Trevor behind me as I left.

  Once we were out of earshot he grabbed my arm and turned on me. "What the crap?"

  "Well, I'll be going to school in a couple of days. People will see this. I'll have to have some kind of story to explain it. You're kind of the only person who knows about… my dad."

  "Oh. Well uh, I think you need to work on that one. You ran into a door? Come on." He smiled, trying to lighten the mood. I fake pouted and bumped into him with my hip, then laughed with him.

  After dropping Copper off, we walked around downtown for a little bit, finishing our dripping cones. Down the street I saw La Dolce Belladonna Salon, which is the ultimate best salon ever, so of course I had to drag Trevor over there with me! I had almost forgotten about this place. The window outside had a bright sign, We now do men's makeovers too! I turned to Trev and grinned maliciously. His eyes widened and he backed away, holding his hands up.

  "You know you want to." I said, stalking him.

  "You wouldn't dare. I care way too much about my hair!"

  Well fine, if that's the way this was going to go, I had no other choice than to pull the pity card. "But Trevor, if you do this for me I might forget about what happened. Isn't that what we're trying to do in the first place? Come on, please? It will make me so happy! And I'm sure Casey will love it…" He hesitated, pulled on his sleeve, and sighed in defeat. Victory!

  I bit my lip to keep from smiling too big and grabbed his wrist, dragging him inside. The intoxicating smell of hair and nail products engulfed us as we stepped in. I breathed the familiar scent in while Trevor gagged and covered his mouth and nose. The vintage black and white pillow on the leather couch looked soft, so I held one as I took a seat and snatched a magazine off the table. Trevor followed uncertainly, sitting on the edge of the couch like it was dangerous or something.

  "Calm down, wuss-puss." I smiled and said without looking up. I was looking at all the male models, who consequently weren't wearing shirts. One guy had a freaking 8 pack and the most gorgeous brown eyes I had ever seen, besides maybe Trevor's, but his were blue so he doesn't count. His hair was blond and spiked up slightly in the front. I held the picture up next to Trev to compare how the hair would look on him, but black. From what I could imagine… it was hot. I closed the magazine tightly and held it away from him so he couldn't see.

  Just then a tall, slender woman walked around the corner and smiled at the two of us.

  "Bonjour," she said with a heavy French accent, "Are you here for a makeover?" Her name tag read Evangeline.

  "Oui," I grinned and stood up. Trevor followed suit as I walked over to the counter she stood behind.

  "Parlez-vous français?" Evangeline asked.

  "Oui." Trevor looked confused as we spoke to each other in French.

  "Parfait! Que puis-je faire pour vous aujourd'hui?" Perfect! What can I do for you today?

  "Une nouvelle coiffure pour lui, j'ai une image. Et je veux que mes cheveux fait trop s'il vous plaît." A new hairstyle for him, I have a picture. And I would like my hair done as well please.

  "Oui Madame, droit de cette façon." Yes ma'am, right this way.

  Trevor stumbled after me as I followed the woman deeper into the salon, clutching the magazine to my chest.

  "This is José, he'll be doing your hair while I work on the boy." She said in English, gesturing to a man sitting on a stool facing away from us, playing on his iPhone. At the mention of his name, he stood gracefully on long legs and walked over to meet us. His dark brown hair was quaffed perfectly. His chocolate eyes were dark and soulful, with long, thick lashes. He had a tan complexion and a tiny goatee on the tip of his chin. He was with such poise and grace I would almost say he might be…

  "Hay! Ooh girl, your ends are so dry! Let's get that fixed up baby." Yep, definitely gay. He spoke with a slight Spanish accent and wrapped one arm around my shoulders. I hugged him back awkwardly and tried to refrain from laughing out loud at Trevor's incredulous face.

  The closer I looked, the more I wondered how I didn't realize he was gay the moment I saw him. He had on a little bit of black (or was it purple?) eyeliner and in the right light I could see tiny sparkles adorning his eyes. He was wearing a dark blue button down shirt that hugged his torso and muscles. He wasn't huge, but he definitely wasn't scrawny. The shirt was tucked into black dress pants that also hugged his body tightly, showing off his… curves.

  "Ooh and you honey, you are fiiiiine. You single? Damn, you probably don't even shoot my way baby! Well if you change your mind, you know where to find me." He winked at Trevor as Evangeline whisked him away to another room. She came back a few moments later.

  "So, you want me to do his hair, oui? Show me the pictures and I can do it."

  I opened the magazine I held to the page I marked and pointed out the gorgeous model. She smiled knowingly as I opened to the page. "Ok, so I think his hair would look good cut like this, but I mean you're the expert here so you can mess with it a little if you want. And he has no idea this is how it's being done, so if you could turn his chair to face away from the mirror or something, that would be great. Thanks so much!" I called after her as she snatched the picture and walked away briskly. The corners of my mouth turned down as I watched her slim body round the corner.

  "Don't worry 'bout her baby, she'll do fabulous! The things that girl can do with a comb and a pair of scissors… uh! Don't even get me started. I'd turn straight for her in a heartbeat. Ok, no I wouldn't. But you know what I mean, heh." He sat me down and pulled out a fat curling iron and several bottles of expensive looking product. "Ok baby, I'ma just do some big ass curls, you down with that? Ok? Ok, good, cuz I just know it will look hawt with your cute little heart face."

  He rambled on about who wore what to what party and how hideous it was to wear purple sequins these days (mental note: toss that purple sequined tank top ASAP) while he rubbed countless lotions and oils into my hair and then curled it to perfection. In all honesty, my hair looked pretty good. If I ignored my face and only focused on my hair, I could almost imagine a pretty girl! I smiled at my reflection, and then at José.

  "Damn bitch, you looking good! Your little boyfriend in there gonn' be drooling awll over you!" He smiled brilliantly with perfect white teeth and ushered me to the room Trevor and Evangeline were in. I didn't bother to correct him about Trevor, that wa
s what it probably looked like and I was getting exhausted. I didn't feel like saying anything, though this guy was pretty fun to talk to.

  I closed my eyes as I walked in, refusing to see Trevor's new haircut until it was completely done. José led me to a cushioned chair and helped me sit down. I kept my eyes closed but smiled in the direction I figured Trevor was in.

  "Wow…" He whispered.

  "What?" I asked, suddenly very self-conscious.

  "It's just that… well you look amazing Ari." He said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

  "Thank you!" I beamed. "I would say the same but…"

  "Ha, yeah I know. Why aren't you looking, anyway?"

  "I want to wait to see the end result! You can't see it until it's done, so neither can I." I grinned.

  "Ok, it is done!" Evangeline announced. I heard her heels clicking on the floor until she reached me and pulled me up by my arms. She walked me over beside Trevor and counted to three, turning his chair around as I opened my eyes.

  It was… well it was pretty darn sexy. With this new haircut you could see Trevor's forehead and his eyes seemed brighter. Although his skin wasn't completely clear, it was perfect in its imperfection. He smiled shyly through the mirror at me, and I gaped back. Holy crap, he was gorgeous. Casey had no idea how lucky she was. I wondered if she would like his new haircut. I, for one, thought it looked amazing, but that was only me.

  He waited patiently as I got my nails done next, just because I wanted to, humming quietly to himself and reading a magazine he found on one of the waiting tables. We still didn't say much. Neither of us knew what to say. Evangeline was also quiet, but it wasn't awkward. I was having a great time and it was nice to just spend time with Trevor. Evangeline cleared her throat and held my hands up in front of my face. I suppose I had simply been lost in my thoughts until she finished. She was now cleaning up her station and Trevor was standing beside me, offering a hand to help me up. I caught myself staring at him again, he was just so different looking!

  I thanked Evangeline graciously and paid at the counter for both Trevor's and my haircuts. It was my idea anyway, and he certainly wasn't going to pay 50 dollars for my nails. We said goodbye to José, who waved flirtatiously at Trevor and then did some other inappropriate gestures to him. I giggled at his uncomfortable expression as we exited the salon and walked to the car, where we then sat in silence. I wasn't exactly sure what to say now. Thank goodness neither Evangeline nor José said anything about my face, but now that we were alone again the awful thoughts and memories were beginning to come back. But I didn't want to think about them at all anymore.

  "So… What do you want to do now?" I asked, staring at my hands.

  At first he didn't say anything, just sat there looking at me. Then the corners of his mouth turned up slightly and he looked down.

  "What?" I asked hesitantly.

  "Well, I'm not sure if you recall, but I happen to remember a certain night in your house… on the floor… with lots of soapy water…" He hinted, looking up to grin mischievously.

  Inwardly I groaned and put my face in my hands. What strange devils possessed me to do that in the first place? Of course he hadn't forgotten about it. On the outside, however, I grinned back at him easily. "Yeah? I think I might remember something…"

  "I was thinking, maybe we should talk about that." He said in all seriousness now. Crap.

  "It was just a kiss, Trevor."

  "Yeah, I know, but… I just, I don't know. Why did you, er, do it, anyway?"

  Oh no. He must have been pretty nervous about this if he was stuttering now. He reached up to brush his hair but it was so short now, so he just put his hand back down awkwardly.

  "What do you mean? I did it because you forgot how to kiss, so I showed you." I said offhandedly, pretending to study my nails. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

  "Um, yeah but, I mean, you know. Isn't that a little, um, weird?" He asked.

  "Weird? Uh, ok, well I thought we were closer than that for something so trivial to be considered weird. It. Was. Just. A. Freaking. Kiss. Ok?" I said, enunciating each word carefully, trying to convince myself perhaps more than him. "Anyway, we can just forget about the whole thing, if you want. It really didn't mean anything, just a friend to friend practice kiss or whatever."

  "Oh. Yeah, definitely. Um. Ok." Trevor said. I closed my eyes. Please just drop it, Trevor, please just drop it. What the crap was he thinking, bringing that up anyway? And why the crap was I being so defensive about this? Ok. Whatever. I needed to change the subject.

  "So maybe we could like go to-" I started, just as Trevor said, "I just wanna say that you look beautiful."

  I stopped, and he froze, looking down. His eyes flashed up for a moment to meet mine and then he looked down again, a slight pinkness rising in his cheeks.

  "Um, thank you, so do you." I said. Then I realized what I said, and Trevor and I burst out laughing at my stupid remark. "But really, you look awesome. Casey is going to love it." I said once our laughter had died down.

  "Really? You think so? Ok well, thanks." He smiled his adorable little crooked smile at me. "So, I guess we could go back to my place if you want?" Coming from any other guy, that would have probably sounded like he was just trying to get some. But from Trev, it just sounded like he was a genuinely concerned friend.

  I thought about it for a minute. I still hadn't been home and I needed to shower, but I definitely didn't want to go back there. I would probably be fine for another day. "I'd love that."

  Chapter 11 - I Love You

  I think we started a movie, though I was too tired to fully process what was going on. I wrapped myself in a huge blanket and snuggled into the couch next to Trevor, with Copper between us. I fell asleep quickly and woke early in the morning.

  Somehow in the night, the distance between Trevor and I had closed. Now I was curled up next to him using his chest as a pillow and his arms were slung around me. Copper was snoring lightly on the floor below us. How did this happen? I couldn't stay with him like this, what if someone were to see us? It would look to wrong! He had a girlfriend and I had a boyfriend, and they weren't each other. I had to take several deep breaths to calm myself. It's not a big deal, I told myself, you were just sleeping, you couldn't control what was happening.

  With that thought, I let myself relax on him, laying my head down once more and closing my eyes. I even let a small smile creep on to my face. But then I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Crap. It was probably his mother! What would she think of us lying here together so intimately? I closed my eyes and pretended I was sleeping, if only so I wouldn't have to meet her accusing, dead eyes.

  After the last step there was a pause, and I could feel her eyes on us.

  "Trevor?" I stopped breathing. Her voice was cracked and quiet, she sounded like a little mouse, like she was afraid of something.

  "Um, hi, Mrs.—er, miss Rushton." I whispered, and turned my head ever so slightly so I could look at her without jostling Trevor. Her hollow eyes gazed at me confusedly. Her thin eyebrows furrowed slightly, causing the pale skin on her forehead to crinkle.

  "Who are you? What are you doing in my house?" Her voice suddenly sounded hard, and her eyes shone with a bit of light.

  "I'm Trevor's friend," I said gently, slowing easing myself away from him to stand up. "He let me stay the night, I hope you don't mind. He's sleeping right now." She walked over to where I stood above Trevor and gazed down at him. Her face softened and she suddenly looked very tired again.

  "I want you to get out of my house," she whispered, and sat next to her son. I nodded and grabbed my shoes and purse by the door, backing out slowly. When I left she was still sitting next to Trevor, petting his hair while silent tears streamed down her face.

  I was seriously debating whether I would actually get up and go to school Monday morning. My cheek looked even worse and it looked like someone was going for a black eye but missed, which may very well have been
what happened. Besides how they looked, my face and side hurt even more now, too. You know what they say, the bruise is always its worse after a few days.

  Eventually I decided on going, because I really didn't want to stay here. I covered the bruise as best I could with makeup, and it looked a little better, but still not great. I had to stay away from the mirror at all costs so I wouldn't see it and convince myself not to go after all. Missing school sucks a lot worse than looking bad for a day… or a week…

  Whatever. I'd think of something to tell people once I got there.

  "Oh my gosh! Like, what happened to you Ariana?" Elizabeth Jones asked me when I got out of my car. Well, I guess I'll have to come up with a story sooner than I thought.

  "Uh, well actually—"

  "It looks like you, like, got in a fight!" She exclaimed, awed. Hmm. Interesting prospect. After all, what other excuse did I have?

  "Yeah, yeah that is what happened." I grinned.

  "Wo-o-ow! That is like, so bad ass."

  "I know," I smiled and stepped around her, walking in the school with my head held high. Elizabeth was one of the biggest gossips in school, surely the story would be around by 2nd period, if not 1st. She caught up to me and walked right next to me, I could almost see the gossip wheels scheming in her head.

  "So, like, what happened? Who did you fight? Oh my gosh I, like, have to know!"

  "Um, it's actually a funny story, ha." Crap, what was I going to say? I said the first words I thought. "Um, well, I was uh, walking to Kohl's and there was this chick, and uh, I don't know man. She was crazy! I went to grab this dress—it was the last one—and this girl like, freaked out at me. I think she wanted the dress, too, but I saw it first. I wasn't going to let her have it.