Dance of a Lifetime

by Frank Downey

  "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 o
ver 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.