I smiled weakly and said, “Well, I’ve always tried to have an open mind.” I disengaged my arms from around his neck and stepped back slightly. “Well, it’s late. You have a plane to catch in the morning and I’m beat. Thanks for the lovely dinner. It was great!”
“You’re very welcome, sweetie. I hope we can do more next time I’m in town.” Phil raised his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. Something tells me Diane’s not going to let you get that close again.
Standing in the open doorway, I waved as Phil drove away. From inside the house, the phone started to ring. I watched the taillights of Phil’s rental disappear around the corner before stepping into the house to answer the ringing phone.
“Hey sis!” called the voice on the other end after I picked up the handset. “Guess what?!”
“What?” I replied, already guessing what Diane was going to say.
“We won! We won the contest! Woo hoo!” squealed Diane.
“That’s great! Man, I wish I could have been there!”
“You know what one of the judges said?”
I said, “I can’t imagine. What?”
Giggling, Diane said, “He said — and I quote — ‘I haven’t seen cheerleading like that since Diane Davis was on the squad!’ Isn’t that funny?” Diane’s voice dissolved into a fit of giggling.
“Hysterical,” I said.
“Well Chrissy, I just wanted to give you the good news. Coach is so happy. This is only the second time her squad has won at the Contest. It’s good to know I’ve still got it!”
“Tell everyone congrats for me,” I said.
“I will. I gotta go. We’ll be home tomorrow afternoon sometime. See ya!”
“Oh, hey! Before you go…”
“What?” asked Diane.
“Phil really enjoyed his date with you tonight. He’s glad to be back with you since he hasn’t met any guys he likes yet. He’ll be back in town in a few weeks for another date. I’m sure he’ll want more than just a kiss next time. Well, bye!”
I hung up the phone. A few seconds later, it rang. I let the answering machine pick up. Diane’s voice had taken on a completely different tone as I heard over the phone’s speaker, “Pick up the phone you little shit. What are you talking about? Answer the phone dammit!!”
She called three more times before giving up. That night I slept like a log.
* * *
Chapter 12
“Open this door, bitch!” shouted Diane from the other side of my bedroom door. The doorknob rattled viciously.
“No way in hell!” I shouted angrily back through the door.
There was more rattling of the doorknob followed by an anguished scream and then pounding on the door.
Through the door, I heard Mom, sounding more than a little pissed, “What on earth is going on here? Why are you banging on Chrissy's door?”
“Mom, that little bitch...”
“Diane!” said Mom sternly. “I will not have language like that in my house!”
“Mommm!” whined Diane. “Will you listen? Do you have any idea what she did?” There were some muffled words from Mom that I couldn't make out. “Well, I'll tell you! Remember that one boyfriend I had in college that I told you about?... Which one?! Mom! You know, Phil! That lying sack of sh... that lying jerk! She had a date with him! As me!! And... and suggested that I want to get back together with him!”
There was a few moments pause and then, her face obviously close to the door shouted, “Christopher Michael Davis! You open this door this instant!”
Not only did Mom invoke the dreaded three names, but she used the names I was born with instead of who I was now. I swallowed hard and unlocked the door, hoping that with Mom there, Diane wouldn't try to kill me.
“Oh, hi Mom. What's for dinner?” I asked innocently.
Ignoring my question, Mom and Diane stormed angrily into my room. I sat down on my bed as they both stood to face me.
“What do you think you're doing, Chris?” asked Mom. “You're going out with that nice boy Joey and then you date another man — an older man... as your sister? Knowing that your sister had a bitter break-up with this man? What were you thinking?”
Diane stepped closer and with anger dripping like acid from her words said, “Yeah, you little ho'. Just what were you thinking?”
Furrowing my brow, I shouted, “And you, you skanky bitch — just what were you thinking when you told Phil that Dad beat Mom all the time and that I was in jail? Yeah, bitch, like, what's up with that, huh? Huh!?” I gave her a push backwards.
“Girls!” shouted Mom.
Diane just stood there and blinked a couple of times. Hair falling across her face, the tenseness in her muscles visibly relaxed some. Then her face suddenly clouded again as she shouted, “Because my family is so fucking boring! Christ! I mean it's like being in the Cleaver family! Maybe if I'd known you were a gay transvestite, I wouldn't have had to make up so much shit!”
“Diane!” shouted Mom, looking madder than a wet hen. “That is quite enough!”
“I'm sorry, Mom, but jeez!” Diane grabbed me by the hair and pulled my head down. “How dare you get me involved with Phil again!” She grabbed me by the sides of my head and gave my head a vigorous shake and shouted, “You stupid stupid-head! You don't remember me having you go out and tell him to get lost?”
“Enough, Diane!” scolded Mom as she pried Diane's hands from my head. “I'm sure Chris has an explanation.”
There was a pause for almost a minute before Mom said, “Well Chris? I'm waiting for an explanation.”
Pulling my disheveled hair away from my face I said, “Well, I was at the movie theater talking with Gwen, when this salesman shows up. He recognizes me as Diane and starts talking to us...”
I told them about our conversation and then his insistence on taking me out. I didn't leave out a thing. I told them everything, from how absolutely gorgeous Phil is to how wonderful his kisses are. While I was talking, Diane's expression became more wistful with even a slight smile forming.
Silence clung to the walls for a moment. I shrugged and said, “And that's it.”
Mom was about to speak when Diane, with her eyes closed and face darkening, through clenched teeth said, “You have to call him. You have to call him and tell him you don't want to see him anymore.” Her eyes became slits as she continued, “Do you understand, my dear sweet sister?” Acid dripped from those last four words.
“He's your boyfriend, you call him!” I said in a serious voice.
Diane pulled at her hair and let out a frustrated squeal. “I was done with him! You're the one that had to go out with him! You have to call! Besides, if I call him, he'll just drag me back to him. Just like he did once before.”
With a big smile, I said, “He is hard to resist. I mean, he's ... well, he's beautiful! And, like, his story of you breaking up with him was different from what you told me that night at your college. So did you catch him with two other guys...?”
My voice trailed away as Mom gave me a rather odd look. Again Diane spoke before Mom could find her voice. “What!?” Giving me a “what the hell” look, she continued, “He told you what?”
I just shrugged and said, “He said you caught him with two guys.”
“Oh my God!” Diane yelped. “He must have you, I mean me, confused with someone else, and that means… Oh my God! That means he’s bi! I could have had sex with him after he… Oh my God!” Diane pulled her hair tightly down on both sides of her face as if she was trying to hide with her hair.
In a quiet voice, Mom simply said, “Chris. Call Phil and tell him you can't see him anymore.” I started to say something, but she just waved me off and said, “No. No excuses young lady. Seeing Phil wasn't fair to him, wasn't fair to Diane and it certainly wasn't fair to Joey. Call him tonight.” Shaking her head, she turned to face back down the hall and started to walk back towards the living room.
Diane wagged a finger in front of my face. “Don't you ever do t
hat to me again, you understand?” she snarled before turning to enter her bedroom followed by a slamming door.
* * *
“Hey babe! How's it going?” asked the voice on the phone.
“Oh, hey Joey!” I said as I fell backward onto my bed, my head hitting the pillow. “It's -- going...”
“Just wanted to say congrats on your squad's victory at the cheerleader contest. It's too bad you couldn't have been there.”
I sighed, “Thanks. And yeah, I wish it could have been me there instead of Diane. She's never going to let me live it down either. But, it's good she went though. They actually did a sex test. It seems two squads last year had boys pretending to be girls. Can you imagine such a thing?”
“Yeah, well, I just wanted to say congrats. Guess I'll see you at school tomorrow?”
Joey had suddenly sounded very uncomfortable and the conversation ended quickly. His behavior bothered me and I hoped it didn't mean he was going to back out of taking me to the prom. I wondered if Zach had already asked another girl?
My thoughts were interrupted by my sister sticking her head through the door and saying, “Have you called him yet?” Pointing to the phone I was holding to my head, she says, “Is that him?”
“No. I was going to call next week sometime.”
Talking from her room, Diane said, “You'll call tonight. I mean it Chris!”
Lowering my voice, I said into the phone, “Sorry about that. Got interrupted by that skanky bitch sister of mine.”
Ignoring my comment, Joey said, “Okay. Well, I'm going to let you go. See ya tomorrow at school.”
* * *
“Yellow...” said a disinterested voice through the telephone's receiver.
“Hey, Phil. It's me, Chr... um… Diane,” I said into the phone. I was sitting on my bed with the lights off in the room with my door closed.
“Super to hear from you, Diane! I didn't expect to get a call from you so soon.”
“Yeah, well. I have some bad news,” I said trying to sound despondent.
Sounding unsure, Phil asked, “Bad news? Like what babe?”
“I... I uh... um...” My mind wandered for a moment as I recalled Phil's kisses. Then I blurted out, “I'm breaking up with you...”
“But we've only had one date!” protested Phil. “I mean, not counting the ones back in college. But why?”
I really hadn't thought of a why. I paused for a moment while I wracked my brains for some good reason. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head and without thinking too deep about it, I decided to run with it.
“It just wouldn't be right, ya know? I mean if you're going to date a girl, you need a real girl,” I said.
“I'm not following you, Diane,” said Phil. “What are you talking about?”
“I've never told anyone this before, Phil. So it's kinda hard. You see... I... well, I was born a boy. I've had a sex change.” Diane was going to kill me.
There was a stunned silence on the other end of the phone. After a few moments, Phil said, “Are you... are you... shit, are you serious?”
“Yes. I guess I should have told you. Two summers ago, I made a little trip to Thailand where I had my surgery.”
“I don't know what to say!” I could hear Phil's breathing increase. “I just can't believe this. Diane, you should have told me this from the start!”
“I agree. I know I should have.” I starting to run out of things to say, so I hoped Phil would hurry up and get mad and hang up. “But I was afraid.”
“No need to be afraid, babe. I love shemales!” exclaimed Phil. “So much more interesting than genetic females. So there's no reason to break up. Super!”
Oh crap! I didn't expect this response. I cried, “You don't get it Phil! When I was a guy, I loved men. But now that I'm a woman, well, I prefer women. Sorry. That's just the way things go.”
“Are you sure?” asked Phil. “I mean, you could just be misinterpreting your feelings.”
I sat there on my bed in flabbergasted silence for a few moments and realized that even if I said I had four eyes, a tail, and breathed methane, Phil would just say “Super!” In exasperation, I shouted into the phone, “Phil! Look. I was lying about the sex change part…”
“You mean you weren’t a man?” interrupted Phil.
I closed my eyes and mentally gritted my teeth since it’s hard to grit your teeth and still talk. “No! Not ever. I said that because it’s so hard to just blurt out that I don’t like you, Phil. I never want to see you again! Never. Not ever. Okay? There. I said it. I made a mistake in going out with you. I’m hanging up now. Good-bye. Sorry. Good-bye. I mean it.”
“Baby, I think we can work this out, you know?” Phil said without any hint of emotion.
“Say good night, Phil…” I said and then hung up the phone. For a long time I just sat there in the darkness.
* * *
I was walking numbly though the halls to my second period class when Joey stepped beside me and began to walk with me. I smiled weakly at him. I was in a totally sour mood that morning. I felt awful about how I had acted the past several days. Not only was my conscience working over-time with guilt about hurting Diane, but also having cheated on Joey. I couldn’t bring myself to look him in the face.
“Are you okay?” Joey asked. “You look down in the dumps today and you seemed down this weekend too. Anything you want to talk about?”
Still not looking at him, I just shrugged and said, “No, it’s nothing. Really.”
We were just passing an empty classroom when he stopped me and turned me to face him. He said, “Look, if you don’t want to go with me to the prom, I understand. I know I’m not a jock or that exciting so…”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and a feeling of frustration washed over me. Joey was getting the wrong idea about my mood from last night when we talked on the phone. On sudden impulse, I pushed Joey into the empty room and quickly shut the door behind me. I spun Joey around to face me as I gently held him against the closed door. I looked at him for a moment before pressing my lips hard against his. I kissed him hard, with all the passion I could muster.
I looked at him for a moment after reluctantly pulling my lips from his. In almost a whisper, I said, “Don’t ever think for one moment I don’t want to go to the prom with you, Joey!” Smiling sweetly to him, I opened the door and hurried to my next class.
* * *
After looking around, making sure no one saw me, I softly knocked on Coach Renwick’s door. Looking up from her work, she turned in her chair and smiled. “Come on in, hon,” she said. “Have a seat. What’s on your mind?”
I sat down on the proffered chair, folding my hands on my skirt. For a moment, my eyes focused far away, and then I looked down at the floor, “Ms. Thornapple told me that she’d handed the decision of who was going to get the cheerleading scholarship to you. Have you picked the winner for the scholarship award yet?” There was going to be a cheerleader banquet on Wednesday before the prom. It’s a send-off for the senior cheerleaders as well as a welcome to the girls who just won the try-outs. And of course, the awards are presented at that time.
She looked at me curiously before saying, “Well, of course Chris. In fact, I’m having the plaques engraved this afternoon.”
“Who are you giving the scholarship to?”
Ms. Renwick barked a short laugh and said, “You’ll have to wait until the banquet, Chris. Just like everyone else. You know that. Why do you ask?”
“It’s just that… um… It’s just that well, I…” I had a hard time saying what I needed to say. One part of me knew I had to, the other part didn’t want to. Finally I managed to say, “It’s just that if you have picked me, I want to ask that you pick…” I took a deep breath. “I want you to pick Mandy. I think she is so much more deserving than me.”
Coach studied me for a moment before saying, “You both are excellent cheerleaders. You both have shown leadership in spirit as well as achieving goals. I’m pr
oud of both of you. My decision was not an easy one.”
I nodded and said, “I know. But I know Mandy really wants it bad. She’s worked hard, been a cheerleader longer than I have, and I know she’d get more out of it since she’s, well, you know, a real girl.”
Coach Renwick smiled at me, reached out and lightly touched my hair and said, “Honey, trust me. You’re every bit a real girl as far as I’m concerned. Oh, I’m sure some may argue differently, but they don’t know you like I do. I only see a sweet, talented and beautiful girl sitting across from me.”
I smiled weakly. “Thanks,” I said staring at my hands. “But really, the award should to go to Mandy. I need to go.” And before Ms. Renwick could answer, I got up and quickly left her office.
* * *
“What do you want, sis?” asked an irritated voice on the other end of the phone. “I’m in the middle of doing my nails. I have a job interview this afternoon.”
Momentarily stunned, I forgot what I was going to say to my sister and asked incredulously, “A job interview? You?” It was lunch and I had walked out of the noisy cafeteria to use my cell phone.
Sounding defeated, Diane said, “Yeah. I’m tired of sitting around the house. None of the resumes I’ve sent out have generated anything more than two or three phone interviews. Radio station KRUD is hiring a sales rep.”
“That’s a Country station. You hate Country Music.”
Diane laughed as she said, “I don’t have to listen to it. Just try to get businesses to buy advertising on it!”
“Well, good luck, Diane,” I said sincerely.
“Thanks.”
“Hey, Diane. What I called about…” I hesitated a moment. “The reason I called… well, I’m suffering huge guilt today. I really screwed up with Phil. I hurt you and I wanted to say I’m sorry.”
The Reluctant Prom Date (The Reluctant Series Book 4) Page 16
