Heatstroked

"I don't know. I just do," Becki said, her smile fading.

"Ok. I was just curious. So, dancing you said? When?"

"No, I did not say you should take me dancing!" Becki started laughing again. "Grumps, tell him he's being an idiot."

"Pool boy, you're an idiot." Willard scowled at me as he came through the door. "And we're running late. So, if you two lovebirds could quit making googly eyes at each other and quick march it on down to the carts, we'll get to it."

"Hey, you old badger! Don't forget breakfast!" Eunice called.

"Grumpkin, you go get that," Willard growled. "I want a word with the pool boy before we get started on the chores."

"Uh oh." Becki wrinkled her nose impishly at me. "Just leave my boyfriend in one piece, Grumps."

"I ain't makin' no promises."

I felt too good over Becki calling me her boyfriend to feel too worried over Willard scowling and growling at me.

"Let me speak plain, boy," Willard said. "I reckon we all owe you somethin'. My wife, she's plumb over the moon about you and my granddaughter. And I ain't exactly upset with how you've cracked Grumpkin out of the shell she's been in. But, I will be damned if I'll risk letting you put her right back in it by loving her and leaving her. I'll use your lifeless skull for a spittoon before I let that happen."

"Well, Willard, I don't know what you want me to say," I said soberly. "I guess I'll have to leave at the end of August to find some way of making money. I don't and won't want to, but I'll have to. Unless you can figure out some way I can stay here and contribute something over the winter.

"Yeah, I can't either," I went on when he shuffled his feet and shifted his glare over my shoulder. "So, I'll have to leave at least long enough to figure out something. But, all I know is right now I don't like the idea of waking up to a day without Becki in it somehow. How is up to her. Can't that be enough for now?"

"As long as you keep it in your pants, I guess it'll have to be," Willard grumped.

"Grumps!" Becki said from just inside the screen door.

"You weren't supposed to hear that." Willard blushed. "That was supposed to be just between us men."

"Well, I brought you men your breakfasts. Do you want it in your hand or over your head?"

Willard muttered something under his breath and opened the screen door.

I can't say how easy it was for Becki, but for me I think the most difficult thing about that morning was keeping my hands, lips, and any other part of my anatomy off her in front of Willard. And I think Willard could tell. I tried to keep my mind on work, on what Willard was teaching us, but I kept finding myself standing close enough to Becki our arms brushed. Willard had enough about a half hour earlier than he normally sent me back.

Eunice was just walking down to the pro shop. When she saw me break into a run to catch her, she paused.

"Is everything all right, John?"

"I don't know," I sighed dramatically. "I think Willard is about to kick me off the property. He sent me back."

"Oh," Eunice snorted. "Still in overprotective male relative mode is he? Don't you worry, John. I'll settle his hash. It may take me a week."

"Um, Eunice," I began and then faltered.

"Yes, John?"

"I sort of get where Willard is coming from. But, why do you seem so all right with this?"

"And just what is this, John?" Eunice asked with one eyebrow arched.

"Becki and I."

"And what are you and Becki?"

I blinked. Why was Eunice being so obtuse? That was normally my schtick.

"Well, I'm a boy and she's a girl," I said slowly. "And I think after last night, it's pretty obvious we like each other."

"John, that was obvious to me years ago."

"Oh, well yeah. Okay. But, I wasn't sleeping outside her window two years ago."

"John, are you going to slip into my granddaughter's room some night while Willard and I are asleep?"

"What?! No!"

"Are you going to hurt her? Are you going to try to make her do something she doesn't want to do?"

"No! Nothing like that."

"And do you think I didn't already know that?" Eunice sighed at the look on my face. "John, you're a good boy. You're the kind of boy everybody wants their daughter and granddaughter to bring home. If you were just looking for a little fun in the sun, you wouldn't have kept writing her when she couldn't write back. You would have given up weeks ago and left looking for greener pastures. John, just the fact you're still here for last night to happen means I'm not worried about you in the slightest."

"Oh, okay. Um, I told Willard already, but I guess I should tell you. I love Becki and I want her to be in my life somehow. But, I know I'm going to have to leave after August. Maybe go to school. Maybe find a job. But, something. I don't... I don't know what that means for Becki and I. I don't know if she would want to go with me. I don't even know if I should ask. I just know that whatever happens between Becki and I between now and then, I don't want it to end there."

"John, that's very sweet. But, I think you're telling the wrong woman all that," Eunice's eyes twinkled merrily. "That's the sort of thing you should tell Becki, not her family, don't you think?"

"It just seemed right I should let you and Willard know."

"That your intentions are honorable?" Eunice chuckled. "Lord, child. I knew that already, but consider me told. I'll even do you a favor and won't tell Becki you talked to me before you talked to her."

"Oh, okay. Um, thanks."

"Of course, if you do slip in the house some dark night while we're asleep, Willard does sleep with a shotgun under his side of the bed."

"I'll, uh, I'll keep that in mind."

"I'm teasing you, John." Eunice chuckled. "Or am I?"

Good God, it was like Jan had gotten old all of a sudden. I took what seemed the smartest available option and fled, trailing the sound of Eunice's chuckles behind me.

It was really too early to be getting the pool ready, but I went ahead and changed into my swim trunks and took care of the daily maintenance and climbed up on top of the raised platform. Ostensibly, I was sitting up there to read. In reality, I was looking out across the course, watching for Willard and Becki's return more than I was looking at the page.

About two o'clock, Becki surprised me by coming out to the pool, the first time she'd done that. I was swimming laps at the time and had no idea how long she was sitting in a chair before I noticed. She'd taken her loose t-shirt and shorts off displaying her body in that bikini once more.

"Hey!" I smiled at her. "How are you?"

"I'm good. How are you?"

"Much better, now." My smile turned into a grin as Becki blushed while I obviously ran my gaze over her scantily clad body. "Although, I hope you'll forgive me if I don't get out for a few minutes."

"Tease."

"No, Becki." I said, gently. "That's one thing I'm not doing. So, when are we going dancing?"

"We're not going dancing." Becki rolled her eyes. "I distinctly said dancing was out of the question. Why don't we go to a movie or something sane?"

"Okay. When?"

"You're the guy, John. You're supposed to come up with what you want to do and when. I'm the girl. I'm supposed to just say ok or make up an excuse like I have to wash my hair if I don't like what you want to do, when you want to do it, or you."

"Who made that rule?"

"I don't know," Becki snorted. "That's just the way it works."

"Well, that seems kind of backwards. You know I like you. And anything you want to do and any time you want to do it is fine with me. So, why couldn't you ask me?"

"Fine. How about tonight after work?"

"Sounds good to me. Well, as long as Willard and Eunice don't need us. I'll go double check with them."

Becki caught my hand as I climbed out of the pool and walked past her. Her eyes weren't on my face at first.

"Uh huh. Just as I thought. You were teasing."

"No, I wasn't. That water is cold. And I'm about to talk to Willard about taking you on a date. And I understand he's got a shotgun under his side of the bed."

"Yeah, but it's an old shotgun and he isn't a very good shot with it. And I happen to know it's loaded with rock salt."

"Considering I would be the target, I'll worry just a little bit, if you don't mind." I grinned.

"Why, I think that would be wonderful!" Eunice said when I asked. "What would you be going to see?"

"I don't know. I don't really know what's showing. I figured we would eat first and see what's showing and then whatever she likes, we'll see."

"All right," Willard said. "This is how it's going to go. You take her to eat. You take her to the picture show. And then you bring her straight back here. And I want to see ticket stubs from the movie show and the receipt from the restaurant. And if midnight comes and I ain't seen you, you can expect me and Bessie to be on the porch waiting."

"Bessie?"

"His shotgun." Eunice said.

"Oh. Ok."

That evening, Becki and I changed into jeans and headed off to Lubbock on my motorcycle. I'd ridden for almost a year, but only around town. And I'd never had anyone up behind me except my two hundred pound Cabbage Patch doll. It was... an experience.

Becki's arms around me with her soft body pressed against my back was exhilarating. Cruising down the highway and into the much heavier traffic once we reached Lubbock was nerve wracking. It would have been bad enough if I'd been by myself, but I was worried about what could happen to Becki more than I was worried about myself.

When we arrived at El Chico's Mexican Restaurant, Becki's face was flushed and her eyes were dancing merrily.

"What?" I asked, my mood picking up now that we were safely parked.

"What, what? Am I not supposed to be having fun? I forgot just how much fun riding on the back of a motorcycle can be."

"Oh," I said. Right. Probably Chaz had a motorcycle. Becki was my first girlfriend, my first date. I wasn't hers.

"So, what's good here?" Becki asked.

"Everything," I shrugged determined not to let myself spoil things dwelling on the past. "It just depends on what you're in the mood for. I'll probably get the chicken quesadillas."

"Ooh. That sounds good."

I placed the order and sat looking at Becki.

"What?" Becki asked.

"I just can't believe you're here with me. And we're on a date. A real date," I said. "I'm... Well, I'm a little nervous, I guess. I've never been on a date before. Not with anyone. I'm a little afraid I'll mess up and you won't have fun."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Becki laughed. "Trust me, John. You've already gotten off... I mean, you've started out really, really well. Couldn't have been better."

"Huh?" I asked. For some reason, Becki was blushing furiously.

"So, what movie are we going to see?"

"Whatever you want," I said. "The Fox Four Theatre isn't far. I figured we would go there and see what they have. So, are you still thinking about being a marine biologist?"

"What?" Becki blinked sobering. "Um, no. I, uh, I haven't been back in the water since... I'm not interested in marine biology any more."

"Oh, that's a shame," I said. "You seemed to be really excited about it. So, what are you thinking you might want to do?"

"What I am doing, I suppose." Becki said after a moment. "Help Grammy and Grumps with the course. Why? What are you thinking about doing?"

"I don't know yet." I shook my head. "I wish I could stay there forever, helping them out. But, with no customers at all, I just don't see how they could afford to keep me. I don't know what else I can do. Mom thinks I should go to college and figure it out once I'm there. But, I just don't know."

"Where would you go to college?"

"Probably here if I went," I shrugged. "I don't know. I never really had any plans beyond getting to see you again."

"And now that you have, you're thinking about leaving?"

I didn't know what was going on, but Becki had lost her smile. I bet this sort of screw up never happened to any other guy.

"No," I said. "I was thinking we could go to college together. Figure out what we wanted to do together. Becki, I like going to sleep with you nearby and waking up to your smiling face. I like working with you through the day. I don't really want to think about a time when that won't happen."

The conversation died down as the waitress brought our food. I was almost afraid to say anything else. I wished more than anything I was smart and cool, that I was funny and could make her laugh. But, it seemed like everything that came out of my mouth was wrong and only upset her.

The movie choices were pretty limited. I mean, they looked interesting to me. But, I wasn't sure Predator with Arnold Schwarzenegger or Untouchables with Kevin Costner would be a good choice to take a girl to.

Becki chose Roxanne with Steve Martin. It was pretty funny. But, it didn't give me much hope. The only reason Steve Martin's big nosed character got Darryl Hannah was because he was smooth and could talk to her. I'd never really thought of myself as handsome, but I found myself identifying much more with Rick Rossovich's character, the well muscled tongue tied shy guy.

Becki did hold my hand through the movie, so that was something.

Then it was time to ride back.

It was just thirty minutes shy of our midnight deadline when we pulled in. I saw the living room curtain twitch as we pulled up.

"Thank you, John," Becki said. "I had a good time."

"Thank you, Becki. Thank you very much for being my first date."

Naturally, Willard opened the door while I was leaning in to kiss her.

"Seriously, Grumps? It isn't midnight yet."

"Yeah, you can tell as I'm not out on the porch with Bessie."

"Is Grammy awake?"

"Naw. She fell asleep not long after we watched the sunset."

"Do I need to wake her up to make you behave?" Becki asked. "Or are you going to shut the door and give me two minutes to say goodnight to my boyfriend?"

Willard grumbled something I didn't catch and shut the door.

"Now, where were we?" Becki asked.

I pressed Becki tightly against me and kissed her tenderly. We lingered long enough that I saw the curtain behind her twitch.

"I should probably let you go inside," I said. "I don't want to. But, we'll be together again in a few hours, right?"

"Right," Becki said, not letting go. "So, are you going to swim?"

"Being able to do it takes doing it, so I probably should," I said half ruefully.

"Are you going to wear your swimsuit tonight?"

"Er, yes."

"So, that was just a one time thing?"

"Oh, you saw that?" I blushed. "I'd wondered. Did you, um, did you like it when I did that?"

"Yes," Becki said. "I've been disappointed you haven't again."

Right on cue, Willard opened the door again and glared at both of us.

"Now might not be the best time," I grinned.

"I guess not," Becki laughed. "Can't blame a girl for trying."

"Good night, Becki. Thank you, again. I love you."

"Good night, John."

"Oh, Willard. Here's the ticket stubs and the receipt," I offered as Becki went in the door.

Willard snorted and took them from me before shutting the door firmly in my face.

I didn't work out for long, conscious of just how soon Willard's six o'clock wake up call was going to come.

Becki's smiling kiss on the porch the next morning made the lack of sleep worthwhile.

During the next two days, we frequently paused for a hug and a kiss or just a light caress as we passed each other. Eunice just smiled when she saw us. Willard scowled, but he didn't say anything.

--26Jun87--

It was during the afternoon of that second day while Becki was sitting out beside the pool when she surprised me. I'd paused in swimming laps and was leaning on the side with my chin on my folded arms just looking at her.

"John, do you think I'm sexy?"

"Very," I said.

"Do I make you think naughty thoughts?"

"Um," I glanced furtively at the open counter behind her. I couldn't see Eunice or Willard, but that didn't mean they weren't there, close enough to hear but just out of sight. "Come here."

"Why?"

"Because," I whispered, "I'd rather your grandfather didn't get out his shotgun."

"So, is that a yes?"

I shot another look at the open window and nodded quickly.

"Really?" Becki asked with a smile. "You aren't just saying that?"

"Would you please come here if you want to talk about this?"

"Why?"

"Argh!"

I pulled myself out of the pool and went to her side.

"Yes, really." I whispered as I knelt beside her chair. "Do you seriously not know just how good you look in that bikini?"

"No, I don't. Do I make you hard?"

"Jesus, Becki!" I glanced at the counter expecting Willard to be leaning on it glowering at me. "Yes, you do. And you know it. I know you've seen it."

"Then why don't you kiss me or touch me like you want me?"

"What? I do!"

"Not really." Becki shook her head.

"Well, I'm sorry," I said awkwardly. "You're the first girl I ever kissed or touched. I thought... I mean, you seemed to... How am I supposed to kiss you?"

"I don't know. What do you dream about doing to me? You said you have naughty thoughts. What are some of them?"

"What's going on out here?!"

"I'm talking to my boyfriend, Grumps! What does it look like?"

"It looks like the pool boy is having to get close to my granddaughter because he wants to say something he can't say out loud. That about right, pool boy? You need to say something might make me go get Bessie?"

"You see?" I hissed as I rose to my feet. "No, sir. I was trying to convince her to try swimming. As you can see, it isn't going well. Do you guys have any pictures of David around?"

"What the hell for? You lookin' to loose your girlfriend by siccing her on someone else?"

"No. Besides, he's very taken last I saw. But, he didn't let having one leg stop him from swimming."

"He was a squid! What do you expect? Ow! What the hell was that for, woman?"

"Do you see now why it was a bad idea to talk about this here?" I asked out of the corner of my mouth.

"No," Becki choked out.

"Stop laughing, damn it. Hey! You did this on purpose!"

"I didn't. But, it is hilarious."

"You'll be laughing when he shoots me in the crotch with both barrels of rock salt, I expect," I said sourly.

"Seriously, John," Becki said, her hand capturing mine. "I really do want to know. I think those things all the time. And I want to know I'm not alone."

"L-like what?" I asked.

"Hey!" Willard yelled. "Three feet! Matter of fact, why don't you just get back in the pool? Tarnation, woman! Quit smacking me with that magazine!"

Willard's head and shoulders disappeared and I could hear he and Eunice wrangling.

"Why don't we?" I asked.

"Why don't we what?"

"Why don't we get in the pool?"

"Oh, no. I can't. I really can't, John."

"Why not?"

"I can't get my prosthetic wet."

"So, take it off and leave it here."

It took much longer for Becki to remove her prosthetic than it had for David to remove his even though they looked pretty similar to my eye. It was almost as if Becki was shy about it or something. But, that was just silly. She'd sent me a picture without it. Yet, somehow it was almost as if I'd asked her to take her top off or something.

I dared Willard's wrath, should he have poked his head back out, by stealing a kiss as I scooped her up in my arms. After working out with Gary the crash test dummy reject, Becki was so light it almost threw me off balance when I straightened with her arms around my neck, cradling her against my chest.

"Oh, my God!" Becki squealed when I let her legs down and she jerked them back up from the water, trying to climb higher up my chest.

"What?"

"It's freaking cold!"

"Really? It feels good to me. Do you remember the first time we met? You had me standing here, actually right about in this very spot now I think about it, for an hour."