Ardmore Pt. 03

She was wearing a black strapless dress, tiered ruffles in back, with a long side slit. A slit she exploited in her pose, leg and thigh showing, gracefully supported by some very sexy heels.

Damn! This was my first real date in over two years and I was acting like I had never been out with a girl. But this wasn't a girl, this was Adrienne like I'd never seen her before.

"I need to warn you, they all want pictures of us. David? David are you listening?"

I heard her, yet I registered only some of the words. I recall her lips moving though. When did she get such lips? My stare wandered back to her eyes and locked in place. "Beautiful" I murmured. "Absolutely beautiful" I said with more conviction. That last statement got me a wide smile.

Like a zombie I followed as she took my arm leading me to the door. "Your parents are here too. It won't take long. Please stop staring at me like that, you're making me self-conscious." In response I nodded, unable to speak. When she turned I followed my stare now focused on her broad shoulders and bare back. My, she was sexy. Why I hadn't I noticed before?

If asked who was in the house, or how long we stayed, I couldn't tell you. When I look at the pictures today I see a young man with a glazed stare and the goofiest smile imaginable. In fact, all of the pictures came out with me looking like I was confused, a fact that years later our children never seem to miss.

The prom was mostly a blur too. We danced, then we ate, some teacher welcomed us with old jokes on stage, the band played, we danced some more and then we were alone again. I do however, remember Adrienne's hand in mine as she dragged me from table to table introducing me her friends.

My bald head got a few strange looks at first, but in general her female friends seemed happy to see me. Most I had met at the house at one time or another. However, I could also feel some tension from several of her male friends who must have thought Adrienne was unattached. There was no mistaking that look of unwanted interference.

We made an obligatory appearance at a few after-parties. It was more of the same, her leading the way, me following, hand in hand. It was her night and she was using it to her advantage. At the end of the evening I was conflicted. I knew that I wanted to kiss her but I was unsure. What if she did not feel the same? What would it do to our friendship? Could I handle the embarrassment of her rejection?

Even though we rode home in silence Adrienne was snuggling up to me. I was petrified. Instead of protectively placing my arm around her I sat with my hands folded in my lap, afraid to move.

We arrived a little before 2am and I walked her to the front door. I saw she was waiting for me to do something and no simple goodbye would suffice. I just wanted to get out of there, so I pulled her in for a chaste hug. I felt the strength of her arms as they encircled me and then I gently pushed away, fearful that the connection might have lasted a second too long.

I couldn't read her face. Was that disappointment I saw, or was it relief? Being uncertain I said goodnight and left.

Upon reaching the limo I turned to look back at the house. I remembered how she looked when I said goodnight. What if I had hurt her with my ambivalence? That look, it wasn't relief, it was regret. What must she think of me? At that moment my eyes started to mist. She had shaken me in ways I could not explain. This was not how I wanted the night to end, not knowing, always wondering what might have been. It then occurred to me that I was losing her and I became afraid.

Without thinking I ran back up the steps. Moments later I was ringing her doorbell. I did not have any words prepared; in fact, I didn't know what to say. I only wanted to see her again. Just as I hoped, it was her who answered.

"David? Did you forget something?" Her words expressed concern but her tone conveyed annoyance.

"Yes", was all I said as I swept her up in my arms and kissed her. I just did it on impulse. It just seemed the only right thing to do.

Her resistance, what little there was, melted as I felt her hand in the back of my head and her tongue entering my mouth. We were lip locked for minutes, neither wanting to end the joining, our bodies plastered as one. Our first kiss was the most passionate kiss of my life.

When we finally parted and she was but a breath away I whispered, "Please forgive me. I didn't know."

That got me another kiss, as intense and long as the first. Only this time it was she who initiated it. After that kiss we held on to one another, no words spoken, only the feel of warm flesh vibrating in tune and in time.

That next morning it was a different story. I was in a panic. The reality of what we had done took hold. I berated myself for not thinking of whom I was kissing. She asked me to be her escort, not to take advantage of her. Adrienne was like a sister. She was someone whose opinion of me mattered. Now I had put that relationship as well as her view of me in jeopardy. One other problem surfaced as I paced my room, and it was a doozie...I loved her.

Maybe I was waiting for her to grow up. It was hard making sense of it all; I couldn't reconcile my current feelings with our previous status. We should talk, but what would I say? I could barely arrange my own thoughts, where would the words come from? It was there, up front, staring me in the face. My feelings for her were not brotherly. I loved her, and that scared me.

I could perhaps salvage the situation by withdrawing from her, then later, after some time apart we would likely return to our old roles. It would only take me making myself scarce, and avoiding their Sunday dinners for a few weeks, or months.

My plan began to unfold as I made my way to the shower. The bathroom was like a sauna as I relaxed under the hot spray. By the time I finished I thought I had it all worked out. It was cowardly plan and I wasn't happy about my intentions but what else could I do? Sometimes when scared the mind makes the most absurd ideas seem brilliant. I was soon to find that out.

As I reentered my bedroom there stood Adrienne decked out in a yellow sun dress and another wide smile. Seeing that face, I immediately knew the futility of my so-called plan.

"Good Afternoon."

"Adrienne, how did you...?"

With a smirk she volunteered. "Gina let me in. She was right; you do tend to tarry in the shower."

It was then I realized I was almost naked with a towel around my waist and she was scanning me with a mischievous look.

"Do you mind waiting downstairs?"

"Why? Is my 'boyfriend' afraid to let me see him naked?" She came up to me looping her arms around my neck knowing I had but one hand free. "You ARE my boyfriend aren't you?"

Before I could answer her lips were pressed firmly to mine and my grip on the towel became unimportant.

She pulled back, her face a few inches away, her appearance now serious with eyes boring into my own. The next statement cut through me.

"I'm not Brenda Williams, I'm not going anywhere...ever."

She closed her eyes and she nuzzled her face into my chest; her arms tightening around me; my own locking in her embrace.

She was right of course. She had uncovered my doubts the night before and knew I would be seeking to run away. Brenda was the elephant in the closet. I was terrified of another failure, and yet I did love Adrienne. I was just afraid, too afraid even to admit my need for her.

Standing there holding her so close I knew my fears were foolish. I had already entrusted her with most of my secrets. She knew all my likes and dislikes and I knew most of hers. We had been toying with being boyfriend and girlfriend for years; I'd just not been brave enough to publicly acknowledge it.

Dating turned out to be a new experience for us. I thought I knew just about everything there was to know about her, yet almost every day there something to be discovered, and not just from her.

For the first time in my life I found myself actually wanting to be romantic. I'd never felt that way with Brenda, yet there I was picking up flowers, and sending cards every week, and thinking up ways to surprise her, all little things designed to make her smile. And smile she did.

Our affection for one another was apparent to everyone. Adrienne made sure of that; she was always touching me in small non-descript ways.

Contrary to my mother's hopes, Adrienne never pressured me to give up my job, not overtly anyway. I won't say I in no way detected any signs of jealousy, I did. I felt that the best way to deal with it was to become transparent in my actions.

I told her my work schedule, and while I couldn't tell in advance who I would be with on any given night, I did recount my activities to her the next day. That retelling was only part of our relationship for a few weeks until she told me one evening that it really wasn't necessary.

She remained curious about my coworkers though, so one afternoon I made a request of Serena and the next Monday I took Adrienne to school with me and we had lunch with Dr. Jackson. Serena fell right into counselor mode and before we left Adrienne was convinced she WAS my academic advisor.

Getting Cassie and Adrienne together was a little harder, not because of them, but because of me. I had feelings for Cassie, irrational as they were. I loved Adrienne but I was still somewhat infatuated with Cassie, though that infatuation was receding every day Adrienne and I were together.

I wasn't prepared to fully expose that relationship just yet. What if they found me out over lunch? What would I say to Adrienne then? Sorry babe, I love you but...well, I still have a thing for Cassie. That was too dangerous. So I arranged for us to meet with Dee Dee instead (minus her girlfriend of course).

After that date, which went quite well, Adrienne figured out what I was doing and to her credit, told me that it really wasn't necessary for her to meet all of my coworkers. We were getting along so well that we had completely forgotten about Ari, and the problem that brought us together before the prom. On a hot August afternoon it resurfaced.

Adrienne and I were enjoying a pleasant interlude alone in her backyard, cuddling on the swing, talking quietly and enjoying the closeness of one another. It started as a word, then a shout and before long we recognized an argument coming from the house. Then as quickly as it arose, it went quiet.

While initially on alert, I relaxed back into the seat enjoying the feel of Adrienne's body draped over mine as the peace of the garden was reestablished. I heard the footsteps first and then the slam of the screen door. Adrienne's father was moving towards us. By his gait and the look in his eyes I could see he was trying to gain control of his emotions. His gaze never left Adrienne over the short distance to where we sat.

"I just got a call from Stavros", he said through clenched teeth. I tensed immediately, sensing the truth of what was to follow. Mr. Danas was busy steadying his breathing. Adrienne sat up as I moved my arm from around her and took her hand in mine.

"Did you know that Ari was a homosexual?" He asked, not waiting for answer. "Stavros claims you knew all along, that you set out to make a fool of him and his family. I told him my daughter wouldn't do that."

"Daddy, Ari asked for my help. He needed more time before he could tell his father." Said Adrienne in response.

"More time?" Spat her father as he paced before us. Her mother moved to his side touching his arm to calm him. "Stavros threw him out of the house, he has disowned him."

She could not hold his gaze after that. His wife pulled his arm as he spun around to face her. "He's kicked out Eleni too, say's he will divorce her for siding with their son."

A gasp escaped Adrienne's lips as I moved my arm around her. "He can't..." she pleaded.

"Can't he? Stavros is a proud man. He would never accept this from his only son, you must know that." I could see the exhaustion claiming her father. "If only you had come to me with this, I might have talked with him, now we must have a different conversation."

"How can he do this to them?"

"I'm not concerned at this moment with what he has done to them, only with what he may do to himself." He added sadly. Mr. Danas then turned back to his house, "I'll call you later", he said to his wife as he passed." She looked over at us for a second, and then followed him.

Adrienne sat stunned. I had been silent the entire time, not wanting to intrude in their dispute. I was there for her, and I slowly rubbed her arm to express my concern and empathy. I also hoped her father could talk with him and prevent the tragedy from expanding further.

Adrienne turned to face me, her eyes looking into my own for some understanding. I merely raised my eyebrows and hunched my shoulders. This was her time to speak; I had given my opinion some time ago. This whole thing with Ari still stood between us and she needed to clear the air.

"I made a mess of this didn't I?" She said through a frown of determination. I saw her dimples become prominent and noticed how her eyes displayed a hint of sadness. I took a breath. Even in her comeuppance, she compelled my love.

"You could not have foreseen this. I never thought his father would throw him out over this either."

"But it's my fault, isn't it?"

I nodded slowly. "Some of it you own. Why did you do it?"

"When we started it was really about you." When she said that I cocked my head in surprise, and asked, "Me?"

"I was trying to make you jealous. I asked Ari to help me and he did. After a few months it was obvious you weren't responding, at least not in the way I wanted."

"That was, what, fours years ago? Moreover, I WAS jealous, at first, but I came to think I was being foolish. You were like my little sister, so I thought that maybe it was me being overprotective. I saw how you were with Ari. He never seemed to feel as much for you. Oh he tried, but sometimes I saw how your interests simply bored him. After a while I thought you accepted that, so I backed off."

"Besides, you're telling me you started this when I was seeing Brenda. Why did you continue after she was gone?"

"I did it because of Ari. We had grown close to where he thought he could trust me. I told him everything about you, that's when he told me his secret. By then I couldn't abandon him."

Adrienne paused and grabbed my hand. "Everyone needs love." She finally said.

"That includes his parents." I countered, not wanting to let that statement stand alone. The idea that Ari's needs overrode all others without any need for some accommodation to their feelings bugged me. I understood her sense of compassion. Everyone did need love, but there was a way he should have gone about it.

While I was shocked that his father could deny his own son over his being homosexual, I could also understand Stavros' obvious pain of betrayal. No parent WANTS their child to be that way, but neither do they wish asthma or MS on their offspring. It's just something you deal with, you don't have to like it, but it is what it is.

"You have to explain this to your parents...and then you need to explain it to Ari's dad."

I could feel Adrienne tense up when I said that. I pulled her in closer. "I'll be right there with you. You won't have to do it alone, but Lit...this has to be done."

She told her parents later that night. Her father was clearly disappointed in her; however, his outburst that afternoon had dispersed much of his anger and frustration. He was calm and well spoken. I thought his words that night had more impact on her than those from earlier in the day.

Her mother was much more sympathetic. If I hadn't known that Ari's secret was so closely guarded, I would have thought that her mother knew all along of the charade.

The hard task was the conversation with Mr. Manos. She went with her dad. Despite my best efforts, I was not allowed to go with them. I did see her immediately upon their return though. One look at her body language, the way she slumped forward, the tentative manner of her steps, and I knew it had not gone well; and her father's entrance mirrored her own.

Stavros was unmoved. He berated his son with the vilest names, according to her father. While Adrienne was spared the name-calling, her position was regarded with as much contempt as that for his son. That attitude almost bought the two men to blows. At the end, the longstanding friendship between them was over.

I saw the hurt in her father's eyes as his wife moved to embrace him. For my part, I sat with Adrienne well into the early morning hours listening as she both cried and talked out her agony. Her tears were not for her loss however, but for Ari's father. She cried in his stead, for the loss of his son. She cried until exhaustion claimed her. As she snored lightly, her head in my lap, I knew I loved her more deeply than she could ever imagine.

We located Ari after making inquiries with several of his friends. He and his mother were living with her sister. I don't know how Adrienne obtained their phone number, but I was there when she placed the call.

It came as quite a shock when she was firmly rebuffed by his mother. In addition, Ari stated his displeasure through his mother and he too refused to speak with Adrienne. I don't know how they arrived at blaming her for their forced exile, but it was apparent that they did. To say that Adrienne was crushed would have been an understatement.

When you step in the middle of a family dispute you shouldn't be surprised to become the common focus of their anger. To me it was like the stories of police officers who venture into a 'domestic' and become the target for both combatants. Adrienne was learning a hard lesson on the limits of her own compassion, and the guarantee of unintended consequences.

Even though she was upset about Ari's attitude Adrienne never felt offended, never wavered from her defense of him and his actions. She had given herself in friendship to him, and that that was that. I couldn't help but admire her sense of loyalty. In the future she would mend her rift with Ari, but that would be many months away.

Our relationship grew closer from that point. By Thanksgiving, our love for one another was causing me many sleepless nights. Our emotional connection was straining our limited physical relationship too. We had not had sex and Adrienne was putting on the pressure for me to take her virginity.

Odd as it may seem, our sexual contact was limited to kissing and feeling each other up, those activities being a daily occurrence. I can't say that I had not cum in my pants on more than one occasion, the first being a cause for much embarrassment. Or course I had also felt many an uncovered breast along the way and had even ventured south, restricting my advance to rubbing her panty covered sex.

Who was holding back you ask? Simply put, I was. This was Lit we were talking about. I wanted it to be right for her, and I wanted her to be ready. I was the experienced one yet I was most afraid of moving too fast with her.

I had a conversation with Papa about marriage around that time. I don't remember exactly how it came up. Papa and I were talking about graduation and my upcoming appointment in the fall. I was going to be a middle school math teacher and he was telling me what to expect in the next school year. As so often happened with him, the conversation seamlessly shifted and I recall telling him everything about how I felt about Lit. That got me a long lecture about marriage, fidelity, and honor. I remember sitting there wondering how we had gotten into the whole topic.

Then out of the clear blue, Papa advised me to see Mr. Danas for permission to marry his daughter. Next I was to contact my sister Gloria to help me pick out a ring; and that ring should come from Howard's store since he would surely give me the best price.