A Touch Away Ch. 04

The next thing I needed to do was call Dad. I'd have to explain this to him anyway, but it would be good to give him a heads up. I didn't get a chance right away, though. I found Claire waiting for me right outside. She had her hair in a ponytail, worry clouding her face. Haru, Alex and Cole waited along with her.

"Kyle!" The voice belonged to Brad. I didn't expect him to wait for me as well.

Perhaps that little incident in the parking lot was a bonding exercise for our two groups. Perhaps we aren't so different after all. Claire and Haru both refer to the other cliques as 'just people'.

"Brad."

"Meet me tomorrow after school. We will settle this. The better man gets the girl."

Or, perhaps not...

As he said that, I saw a condescending smile. I glanced at Claire, saw the mixture of apprehension and annoyance. At least, I thought that was what I was seeing. Either way, I knew how I wanted to respond to that.

"No deal, Brad."

He genuinely seemed surprised that I declined. I wondered what kind of chauvinistic world he lived in, but I didn't have time to spare my thoughts there. "Claire can make her own decisions, and if things don't work out, we'll deal with it ourselves. Besides, I was thinking of asking Claire on a date tomorrow, so I definitely don't want to spend that time with you."

Was I rubbing a little bit of salt on his wound? Maybe. I felt justified though. The way he scowled and flared his nostrils made it oh-so worth it.

"This isn't over yet, Kyle," he said as he walked away.

I looked over at Claire and smiled at her. She smiled back and said, "Smooth."

Raising my eyebrows challengingly, I asked, "You're not mad I didn't fight to defend your honor?"

She stuck her tongue out and replied, "I'm a strong, independent woman who needs no man." As we walked towards the gate, she added, "On a serious note though, I'm glad you didn't take the bait. But it seems like Brad has blown his fuse, so all of you should be careful."

Cole grinned at her and replied, "Will do!"

With that out of the way, I had my chance to call Dad. He sounded upset and wanted a better explanation, but he accepted that I would tell him everything after work. I had all my bases covered. Mostly. I knew I had to be careful of Brad, I wasn't about to let my guard down. Just because I knew now that not everyone was a spoiled asshole didn't change the fact that Brad was a walking red flag.

"Will you be okay?" Haru was asking Claire when I got off the phone.

"Pfft, yeah, don't worry about me. He won't come after me. You guys just watch your back and..."

Everyone stopped talking as we looked at the bike rack where I had locked my bike. Had. The tires were now flat, the chain pulled out. If they had more time, they might have done more damage to the frame as well. I stared at the wreckage that used to be my bike, fists balled up in rage that I had no intention to bottle up. But the recipient was nowhere around, and I wasn't about to blow up on my friends.

"Well," Cole said as he whistled, "I guess it's started."

Claire touched my shoulder again, reassuring me, defusing that which was about to boil over. It was interesting. It was just a shoulder touch, a friendly gesture between the boys and friends. If some other girl did it, I'd take it as flirty. But this was my girlfriend, and somehow it was more than all of those.

"Don't worry, I'll give you a ride. You can put that in my car, we'll figure out a time to drop it at your house."

She was smiling at me, a tender kindness in her eyes. The strands of hair running loose from her ponytail only made her more beautiful, perfect. I blanked out for a moment, unsure and unable to speak. Suddenly, I really wanted to hold her hand. My fingers twitched just a little at that thought.

Looking at me quizzically, she asked, "You okay."

"Umm, yeah." I replied, snapping out of it. Time enough for that. "You sure it's alright? I don't know how we'll be able to fit my bike in your car though."

There was a glint in her eyes. She looked proud as she replied, "Don't worry, I'm resourceful."

"Thanks a lot, Claire. I'm already late for my job, you're saving me a lot of trouble on top of that."

"It's the least I can do for my boyfriend." Turning to my friends, she asked, "Do you guys need a ride?"

"We're good. Thankfully they didn't trash my car," Cole replied.

I followed Claire's lead, hauling my bike behind her. She turned back and gave me a serious look and said, "You know, none of this would have happened if you listened to me and just grabbed his nipples."

Claire knew what she was doing, and it was working. Suddenly, I was laughing.

"Excuse me, what?" I heard Haru. His eyes were wide open, struggling to comprehend her words.

"Well," I began, "It's an inside joke, which is a little hard to explain..."

Shaking his head, he said, "Let's rewind 30 seconds and pretend you didn't say that... the less I know the better."

"Oh, I love that song," Claire replied, her smile dazzling white.

***

Her car wasn't what I was expecting, but at this point, I should just learn to check my expectations. I was right on one count, it was a bright red car. Other than that though, it was just a regular, four-seater sedan.

"I figured you'd be a convertible kinda girl," I said.

"You know, I always did want one."

"So what happened, your parents didn't want to buy you one?"

She shrugged. "I had changed my mind, more like. This girl's quite reliable, and handy for situations like this."

She pressed a button on her keys, unlocking the door.

"And what exactly are we doing about this?" I asked, gesturing at my bike.

"Simple. We're gonna stuff it in the back."

"There is no way it's going to fit it in the trunk."

"I didn't say anything about the trunk, did I?"

"I... you mean, the backseat?"

"Yep? If we fold her just right, we'll make her fit."

I blinked. "There's no way this will work."

Claire crossed her arms, shaking her head in mock disdain. "Oh ye of little faith, open thine heart and learn to believe."

"Umm, no thanks," I replied. "Hope springs eternal."

"Pfft, I'll make you eat your words."

She opened both doors, then waited on the other side of the car. With a dubious look, I asked, "Have you done this before?"

"Nope!" She said, with an infectiously excited look. "But I know it'll work. I can totally see it in my mind. You might say that I have a vision."

I chuckled. This was a side of Claire that was pretty well known, but it was the first time I was experiencing it. "Alright, lead on, Martin Luther King."

Claire blinked, and then said, "MLK definitely didn't say that. He had a dream. But that's beside the point. Push your bike!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Once I had pushed half of my bike in, Claire caught it from the other side, pulling it up on the backseat. After a bit of pushing, pulling and readjusting, we had my bike somehow fitted in the backseat.

"Ok, hold her tight while I shut the door."

She slammed the door shut, and in another moment, so had I. I stared in amazement at my bike as it seemed to lay awkwardly folded in her car.

Smiling, triumphantly, she announced, "This is the part where you say I was right."

As I got into her car, I sighed and said, "You were right, My Lady. In my ignorance, I failed to see the light of your wisdom, and that has led to my downfall. I should have heeded thee, and touched Brad's nipple."

We were both laughing as the engine roared and Tame Impala blared in her speakers. I watched her hands on the steering wheel, dirt from my tires staining her palms.

"Alright, enough with Brad's nipples," she said.

"You started it."

"Fine, I'm ending it. Now, let's talk business. What's this about a date tomorrow, hmm?"

Red waves of embarrassment floated up to my face. "Umm, well, I..." I swallowed the excitement blocking my throat. "I mostly said that to piss off Brad, but I do want to go on a date with you. Not tomorrow though, would you happen to have some time on Wednesday?"

I was hoping she wouldn't be upset, and nothing showed on her face. But I also knew that Claire was good at masking her emotions.

"I'd like that."

Sighing, I released the breath I didn't know I was holding. Then I realized something else.

"Umm... this is embarrassing, but I have no idea what people do on dates... I'm sorry, I suck at this already."

Claire's face turned, eyes scanning momentarily, before the kind smile returned.

"You know, Kyle, it's fine. I asked you for this knowing you have no experience, so there's nothing to be embarrassed about."

Hearing Claire speak, I felt a weight lifting off my shoulders. Even though I had been interacting with her for all this time now, touching her and talking with her, I was still holding onto that part of me that thought of myself as loner. A part of me that I didn't know of - something ashamed of my loneliness - chipped away, and I smiled back at her.

"Thanks, Claire. That means a lot to me."

"Awesome, since you have a shift on Wednesday, we can get dinner afterwards. Something low-key where we can both chill."

Somewhere without pressure, where we could be ourselves and get to know each other. It was something very unlike anything the two of us had done so far, and it sounded nice. I knew next to nothing about this intriguing girl.

"I like the sound of that."

We had arrived at the library. As she pulled in front of the building, she said, "I'll come pick you up after your shift."

"Umm..." I hesitated, a little taken aback. "You're not coming?"

"Not today, gotta go home for a bit. See you at night. Bye!"

As I watched her drive away with my bike still folded in the back, I felt the warmth and fuzzy be replaced by an uneasy stirring. Thankfully, I had a bit of a distraction. Ms. Patricia asked me about the events, but she didn't seem to care about the note. I was off the hook, and was sent to get to work.

With nothing to prevent my mind from wandering, I considered what just happened. I already knew what I didn't like. Claire wasn't really asking if I wanted a ride, she just made that decision for me. Was I overthinking it? All she did was offer me a free ride. And it was practical. But still, it wasn't an offer, and I wasn't about to settle into something where she held all the power. Even if she was beautiful, smart, and oh so adorable, things wouldn't end well if I didn't stand my ground. Then I'd just end up like Dad.

***

They drew me in again, her hypnotic eyes and sweet smile. Leaning against her car, she stood outside in the cool air wearing a dress that went down to her calves and a cardigan on top of that. She looked so happy and at peace when I stepped out of the library that I couldn't help but smile too. I had even forgotten what I was moping about. After a tiring day and a long and mind-numbing shift, seeing her warmed me from within, knowing that I brought a smile to her face.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi, did I keep you waiting?"

"No, I just got here. Hey, let's go on a walk. There's a nice spot in the park that overlooks the town, it looks great during the night."

And there it was again. There was nothing wrong with the phrasing, but she was doing it in a way that seemed to say that she already expected me to go along with it. Was it because she was used to having her way with people? I had to do something about it, but I just didn't know what to say.

Instead, I said, "I kinda need to go home ASAP. I owe Dad an explanation and I don't think it would be right to keep him waiting any longer."

She looked surprised for a moment, but she recovered immediately, her smile returning. "Oh right! Of course!"

"Claire, are you upset?"

"What? No, of course not!" She denied, making an exaggerated motion with a hand. "What you said was very reasonable! We'll go on a walk after our date or something. There's so much I want to talk about."

Was it normal for girls to come across so strongly? Was it a Claire thing? Mel did call her behavior abnormal.

"Uh huh." And now I was beginning to sound uninterested... Shit! In a desperate attempt to not give her that impression and also move the conversation to something not so forward, my scrambled towards something seemingly safe. "So... what do you do for fun?"

Her laughter rang with mirth. "Twenty questions, huh? Okay, I'll bite. There's a lot of stuff I do for fun. Cheerleading is one of them, but between the big games, I like some down time too. That's why, every now and then, I like to get away from everything and just read. Some quality me-time, you know?"

"I see. How do you have the time to come to the library thrice a week?"

"Oh, it's not something I usually do. Or rather, I can't afford to. This is one of those downtimes, though it's the longest one I've had in a while. My schedule's gonna get busy again after our grad ceremony."

"Ah, so no more of our library shenanigans."

She sighed. "That's one thing that's coming to an end. But hey, we're dating now. We can get up to whatever shenanigans we want to."

Excitement ran down my spine - lighting up my nerves, forcing me to shiver - as it made its way down. Suddenly, I was looking at her, holding my breath. Her eyes were focused on the road, but every word was for me. My benefit.

"Wherever." She turned to smile at me, this one full of wicked amusement.

"Whenever." Her eyes snapped back to the road.

"How does that sound?" Suddenly, my pants were uncomfortably tight.

I released my breath, and choked on my words as I said, "Great... great... umm..."

Her voice was lower now, slower, every word laced with deliberate sensuality. "Hey, be honest with me. What's something you've been wanting to do with me?"

This was still uncharted territory. The things I had been thinking about could have sounded rude if said to a girl... but then again, she was my girlfriend now. If I didn't tell her, who would I say it to?

"I've imagined you naked."

"Well, after the last two weeks, I'd be disappointed if you didn't. And you have seen me topless. But that wasn't exactly an answer to my question, was it?"

I sighed. "Well, it's kinda embarrassing to say it out loud."

She flashed me a smile again. Claire was a minx, and right now she was relishing my embarrassment. "But it's so much fun."

"For you, maybe," I grumbled.

"But it's hot as well. So, tell me. Imagining me naked isn't something you'd be doing with me."

"Fine, I want to see you naked!"

"That's cheating, it's basically the same as the last one. But alright, fine. I'll give you that one. My turn?"

"Sure."

I sat up straight, trying not to be too obvious as I moved my legs to adjust my erection.

When she started speaking, her voice was even lower. "I've been thinking of you in my room." Sexy. "We slowly strip each other's clothes, throw them on the ground." Sultry. "I push you down on my bed." Dripping like honey, her voice was making my soul shiver. "Then I climb on top of you."

Slowly, the car came to a halt. I didn't even notice we were so close to home. She looked at me with a wicked twinkle in her eyes. "I'll tell you the rest next time. Or, maybe I should just show you."

I didn't know how long I was holding my breath. The constriction in my pants had become worse, growing into a full-blown erection.

And then it hit me. "Did you... plan to do that?"

Her smile widened. "Maybe..."

I chuckled. "You're kinda incorrigible, aren't you?"

"I figured you'd get very flustered, and I couldn't help myself. But really, I'm not just messing with you. Anticipation is an important part of the game." Her index finger traced a line down my arm. "This will make the day after tomorrow even better."

Shivering, I replied, "You're still messing with me."

"Guilty." As she stepped out, she added, "I have one request though."

It's awkward moving around with an erection stuffed down one leg. Thankfully, no one but Claire was here.

"And what's that?"

She pointed at my crotch. "Don't do anything tonight. I'll take care of it for you... after our date."

Claire winked, I blinked. "I... how exactly is that supposed to go down if you say things like that?"

***

Sometime later, I was inside the house, with three pairs of eyes on me. The conversation with Dad was short. After I recounted everything, he was quiet for a while.

"Kyle," he said after a moment, "You should have been more diplomatic. Were you trying to start a fight?"

"No, I... I wasn't trying to start one, I just couldn't stand his attitude. But I guess I wasn't trying to avoid one either."

"I can understand that it probably felt great, but you should be careful. Most things are better dealt with tact rather than machismo."

While I didn't agree with that in most cases, this wasn't one of them. "Yes, Dad," I replied.

"Good," he smiled. "Watch your back, Brad could be trouble. That being said, we haven't even talked about the most important thing!"

I scowled, but it didn't take more than a moment to realize what he was talking about. The wide smile and shiny eyes gave it away. I glanced at Sarah, the obvious culprit, and she looked away. I wasn't sure if she was flinching naturally or if that was an admission of guilt.

"You've got a girlfriend!"

"Umm," I scratched the back of my head. "Well..."

"And it's Claire, of all people! Isn't she like a superstar in your school or something?"

"Umm..."

"God, I am so excited!" Dad thrust his hands up at the sky. "The joys of young love! It's something, alright. So, how did this all begin? When did you decide to ask her out?"

I never thought I'd say this but it was Emily who came to my rescue. "Give him some breathing room, dear, he just came home!"

"That's right, you should eat first."

Just for good measure, I made sure to take a shower before joining the dinner table. Everyone else already had theirs, so it was just me eating while Dad hovered around, dying for details... details that I couldn't tell him.

In the end, I settled for, "I met her at the library two weeks ago, and it turns out she goes there quite often. We've been talking for a while, and I decided to shoot my shot."

Dad had a faraway look in his eyes accompanied by an easy smile. "That's a relief. I guess I was worried for no reason."

"Worried?" I asked.

"Ah, it's nothing."

***

It was Tuesday, and school was interesting. Without a bike on hand, my only option was taking a bus, which meant going with Sarah. And somehow the atmosphere between us felt even more awkward.

Seeing her at the table, I said, "Morning."

Sarah froze for a moment, appearing to chew on her mouth with closed lips. After a moment of deliberation, she replied, "G-good morning, Kyle."

And that's when neither of us could find a topic to hold a conversation. After a silent breakfast, we were waiting for the bus. Everything was the same as before, on the surface - the silence, avoiding eye contact, ignoring each other in general. Except we had spoken, so now we were aware of each other. I couldn't help but wonder again what she held against me, why Amanda didn't like me, and what I could do.

I didn't care about the idea of a step-family, nor did I suddenly want to make friends with Emily or Sarah. But after meeting Claire, I wanted to give everything another chance to make sure it just wasn't my perspective.

As we sat quietly, I suddenly turned up to her and asked, "Can I ask you a question?"

A hesitation, followed by her reply, "Sure."

"What's a good location for a dinner date?"

"Huh? Wow, you're moving fast!"

I shrugged. "Maybe. Do you have suggestions?"

"Let's see," she said, lightly biting her thumb. Was that something she always did?