steal a few more kisses.
"You know we worry about you," Zeke said, quietly.
Sherry glared at him too but he just smiled. He was immune to her stare, probably because she stole it from him when they were kids.
"I fell. They stopped to make sure I was okay then rescued my bike. You showed up. End of story," she said in a clipped voice.
Zeke eyed her intently but wisely didn't pursue it. Sherry sighed and stood up. It was time to get off this stupid mountain.
Chapter Two
The second time Eli ran into Sherry, he and Zeke were manning a kissing booth for charity. It was yet another one of the horrible ways his mom tormented him now that he was a grown man. She claimed she did it because he'd been such a difficult baby and that he owed her, big time. Eli thought she did it just because she liked to see him squirm. Kissing the geriatric widows that swarmed her senior center's summer fair fundraiser definitely topped the list when it came to squirming, in Eli's opinion. Not the good kind of squirming, either.
"Hey, Eli. Why are we doing this again?" Simon asked in his most annoying and penetrating voice. "We can afford to just donate money, you know. A large chunk of money and all this agony goes away."
Eli glared at him and pasted a smile back on his face when a flock of his mother's friends moved up to the counter, giggling. Eli suppressed a shudder. Women old enough to be his grandmother shouldn't be giggling at the idea of kissing him and Simon. It just wasn't right.
"I see three of the women who slipped us tongue last year, Eli. Tongue." Simon hissed in his ear. "I'm still trying to get over the trauma. You promised me we wouldn't have to do this again."
"Look, you were the one who insisted we had to stay for dinner last week. I was all for getting the hell out of there, but no. You had to be all ‘polite’ and stuff. You know how my mother is." Eli muttered from the corner of his mouth. Simon didn't have time to respond. The bevy of clucking ladies was upon them.
"Eli! And Simon, too. Oh, how delicious."
Eli tried not to flinch as one particular voice made his spine knot in terror. "Hello, Mrs. Ruffle. How are you doing?" He leaned back, hoping she wasn't going to—
Crap. She was. He flinched away from the twenty she'd just slapped down on the rough wood. Somewhere far away Eli could hear the call of freedom, then Simon poked him in the gut and all hope fled.
"A twenty? It's only two bucks a kiss, Mrs. Ruffle," Simon said in a smarmy voice. Eli poked him back.
"Oh I know that, Eli dear. I'm paying for my friends here, too." She smiled at him and he winced. Her forehead didn't move at all. Too much Botox floating around these days. Her gaze shifted to Simon.
"And of course, there should be enough there for your friend Simon, too." Eli felt like laughing. Or puking. His mom owed him a huge apple pie for this. Maybe even two.
****
An hour later Simon plopped down in the rickety chair behind the booth and heaved a great big sigh. "That was truly horrible, my friend."
Eli grimaced and took another swig of lemonade. "Yeah. I usually just close my eyes and think of the charity."
"She'd been drinking coffee. With tequila." Simon shuddered. "Now I need the tequila. Or maybe some vodka. That might work better. It’ll sanitize my sensitive gums."
Eli thought of Mrs. Ruffle's bright red lipstick and his throat closed up again. He sucked down another quick swallow of his drink. "Yeah. And thanks, but I'm trying to forget all about it now. So can we just not talk about it, please?"
Simon nodded, guzzling his lemonade as if it could wipe away the memory of the last half hour. "Yeah, whatever. You suck, man. You suck so much."
A drop of sweat trickled down Eli's neck and not for the first time he wished it wasn't such a hot, beautiful, sunny July day. He looked across the field at the tree line on the edge of the park. He wished he were there, taking advantage of the shade. Or even better, he wished he were
"You know we worry about you," Zeke said, quietly.
Sherry glared at him too but he just smiled. He was immune to her stare, probably because she stole it from him when they were kids.
"I fell. They stopped to make sure I was okay then rescued my bike. You showed up. End of story," she said in a clipped voice.
Zeke eyed her intently but wisely didn't pursue it. Sherry sighed and stood up. It was time to get off this stupid mountain.
Chapter Two
The second time Eli ran into Sherry, he and Zeke were manning a kissing booth for charity. It was yet another one of the horrible ways his mom tormented him now that he was a grown man. She claimed she did it because he'd been such a difficult baby and that he owed her, big time. Eli thought she did it just because she liked to see him squirm. Kissing the geriatric widows that swarmed her senior center's summer fair fundraiser definitely topped the list when it came to squirming, in Eli's opinion. Not the good kind of squirming, either.
"Hey, Eli. Why are we doing this again?" Simon asked in his most annoying and penetrating voice. "We can afford to just donate money, you know. A large chunk of money and all this agony goes away."
Eli glared at him and pasted a smile back on his face when a flock of his mother's friends moved up to the counter, giggling. Eli suppressed a shudder. Women old enough to be his grandmother shouldn't be giggling at the idea of kissing him and Simon. It just wasn't right.
"I see three of the women who slipped us tongue last year, Eli. Tongue." Simon hissed in his ear. "I'm still trying to get over the trauma. You promised me we wouldn't have to do this again."
"Look, you were the one who insisted we had to stay for dinner last week. I was all for getting the hell out of there, but no. You had to be all ‘polite’ and stuff. You know how my mother is." Eli muttered from the corner of his mouth. Simon didn't have time to respond. The bevy of clucking ladies was upon them.
"Eli! And Simon, too. Oh, how delicious."
Eli tried not to flinch as one particular voice made his spine knot in terror. "Hello, Mrs. Ruffle. How are you doing?" He leaned back, hoping she wasn't going to—
Crap. She was. He flinched away from the twenty she'd just slapped down on the rough wood. Somewhere far away Eli could hear the call of freedom, then Simon poked him in the gut and all hope fled.
"A twenty? It's only two bucks a kiss, Mrs. Ruffle," Simon said in a smarmy voice. Eli poked him back.
"Oh I know that, Eli dear. I'm paying for my friends here, too." She smiled at him and he winced. Her forehead didn't move at all. Too much Botox floating around these days. Her gaze shifted to Simon.
"And of course, there should be enough there for your friend Simon, too." Eli felt like laughing. Or puking. His mom owed him a huge apple pie for this. Maybe even two.
****
An hour later Simon plopped down in the rickety chair behind the booth and heaved a great big sigh. "That was truly horrible, my friend."
Eli grimaced and took another swig of lemonade. "Yeah. I usually just close my eyes and think of the charity."
"She'd been drinking coffee. With tequila." Simon shuddered. "Now I need the tequila. Or maybe some vodka. That might work better. It’ll sanitize my sensitive gums."
Eli thought of Mrs. Ruffle's bright red lipstick and his throat closed up again. He sucked down another quick swallow of his drink. "Yeah. And thanks, but I'm trying to forget all about it now. So can we just not talk about it, please?"
Simon nodded, guzzling his lemonade as if it could wipe away the memory of the last half hour. "Yeah, whatever. You suck, man. You suck so much."
A drop of sweat trickled down Eli's neck and not for the first time he wished it wasn't such a hot, beautiful, sunny July day. He looked across the field at the tree line on the edge of the park. He wished he were there, taking advantage of the shade. Or even better, he wished he were
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